


Carefully Careless

by brittishmenorbust



Category: Constantine (Comic), Constantine (TV), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: All The Tropes, Demons, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Learning Magic, Magical Bond, Possessive John, Romance, Slow Burn, get your tropes here, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-10-18 00:35:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17570912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittishmenorbust/pseuds/brittishmenorbust
Summary: When John Constantine saves you from a demon intent on possessing you, your life is turned upside down. Having narrowly escaped possession, Constantine takes you in while you try to find the thing that nearly killed the both of you. You also get to meet some of the Legends and go on a mini adventure or two with them!We've got all my fav tropes like: oops it's hot I'm wearing very little clothing, accidental slow dancing, sleep next to me so I don't have nightmares, teach me how to do something and have to hold me close to do it, dramatic confessions of love, going undercover as a married couple, stealing his shirts, possessive Constantine and more!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've read some comics, but mostly this is based off the TV show and Legends of Tomorrow. Sorry if I mess up anything from the comics. Also he's more of a softy like in Legends with Des, rather than his comic book self.

Sweat was dripping down your bare back, and you shuddered as it gave you chills. At least that was somewhat refreshing given the ungodly heat. It was the middle of winter, there was snow outside. And yet, your new place’s heat was apparently too eager to help out. You had already called your landlord three times to ask about the windows. They looked pretty new, and there was no reason they shouldn’t unlock and open. Of which they did neither.

You were new in town, having just moved away after a bad breakup. You were starting fresh. New place, new town, and hopefully soon, a new job and some friends.

Your place was nice. It was a little house, really, though no more than one person could live comfortably inside it. You’d broken into the attic, which for some reason your landlord had seen fit to deny you access to, for even more space, went through all the weird shit in there, and placed some of your lesser used items in there for storage.

Along with the new, you were getting rid of the old. By the door, you’d dropped the box you were going to take to donate. It had a lot of stuff that just wasn’t your style and didn’t fit you anymore. You picked up some of the clothes to look at them one more time. It would be better, you thought. The future would be better once you got going in this new life.

You had considered leaving the house to go somewhere where it wasn’t ninety degrees and rising, but the snow had made that impossible. Every time you went outside, you froze, only to come back in to nearly burn. It was a nightmare.

Still, you were making the best of what you could. You’d closed your blinds and donned only some panties, trying your best to keep cool.

In between adding more clothes to the donation pile, and sticking what would fit of your body into the fridge, you heard the doorbell ring.

 _Who the fuck would be going around in the storm?_ You wondered. Maybe a neighbor needed some help. You were new, though. Who would ask you for help?

You walked quietly over to your front door, and looked through the peephole. A blonde man stood outside, his face illuminated by the flame of his lighter currently igniting his cigarette. He looked at you, as if he could see you through the door.

He rang the doorbell again.

“FBI, open up,” he said, in a voice that didn’t sound like an FBI agent at all. Mainly, British.

Not being up on the FBI’s policy on hiring foreigners, you didn’t want to take your chances. You grabbed the first thing out of the donation box you could, and slipped it on. The crop top nearly covered your breasts if you didn’t move your arms too much. It would have to do for now, as the man was knocking quite violently on the door.

Sweat was already seeping through your thin shirt. You looked quickly in the box but didn’t see any pants. Maybe if you just opened the door to show your face, you could answer whatever questions he had and then let him leave without seeing you. Or, you could at least do that to tell him you needed a minute to get changed.

Opening the door only slightly, you peaked your head through, hiding the rest of you body behind the door. The cool air rushed onto your skin, causing an involuntary smile to appear.

“Can I help you?” you asked politely.

The man breathed out smoke as he tapped his cigarette ashes onto the snow. Once the smoke cleared he took a step forward.

He held up a badge that looked quite official to you.

“John Constantine, FBI. Can I come in, luv?” he asked.

You could sense his urgency, but he didn’t show it. Biting your lip, you glanced down.

“Um, I’m not quite dressed, can I just…”

“It’s an emergency,” he insisted. “Your life is in danger.”

You furrowed your brows.

“What?” you asked. “From who?”

He looked irritated at such a question, and sucked hard on his cigarette.

“Listen, you just need to trust me, okay? Is it a million degrees in there?”

You blinked. Surely he deduced that by the sweat on your face?

“Y-yes,” you stuttered. Why was this an FBI matter? “I think the heater’s broken.”

“But none of the windows will open?”

“That’s right,” you said. “Do you know my landlord or something?”

He let out a huff of a laugh and shook his head.

“Not in the slightest. Now please, let me in.”

You were hesitating. Something about this man didn’t seem legit. He’d shown you a badge, but so had several actors on TV shows. It’s not like they weren’t able to be copied.

“Umm,” you flinched. “Could I just see that badge again--”

You were interrupted by a huge banging sound coming from behind and above you. When your grip loosened on the door, the man took the opportunity to push in, causing you to stumble backwards. He didn’t seem interested in you, however, and instead started looking around the place. He felt the wood of the moldings, putting his ear to the wall. While you were walking slowly towards him, trying to figure out what on earth was happening, you heard another bang.

He stood upright and turned to you. His eyes flicked up to the stairs behind you, and before you knew it, two things had happened.

One: accompanied by another bang, a dark black energy had flown down the stairs, and headed straight towards you. Two: John Constantine had grabbed you by the waist and pushed you out of the way, pinning you against the wall next to the stairs and out of its path.

Your chest was pounding, and it took a moment for your eyes to focus on his face. It was so close to yours. In that moment, everything was frozen. You could smell him, cigarettes and whiskey. You could feel his calloused hands on your bare hips. You could feel his damp trench coat against your chest. Your faces were mere inches apart, and while you were staring at your savior, his eyes were elsewhere: On the thing that had just left a huge hole in the side of your apartment wall.

Releasing you from his hold, Constantine walked over to the hole. Leading right to the outside, the drywall looked like it had been hit with a five foot wide cannon ball.

He had lost his cigarette in all the excitement, and reached into his pocket for a new one, lighting it as easily as breathing.

You stood with your back against the wall, trying to remember how to breathe. He didn’t seem at all concerned, and instead, studied the hole in the wall.

“W-what was that?” you nearly whispered.

He turned around as if just remembering you were there.

“A demon,” he answered flatly. “I told you you were in danger.”

You didn't have any words for him at the moment, you just blinked and nodded. When his eyes flickered down your body, you were reminded that you were nearly naked in front of this stranger who had just saved your life.

But that wasn’t what concerned him.

He walked swiftly over to you, and hovered his hand over your abdomen. You glanced down to see what he was looking at, and at the same time, as if your brain had just caught up with the sight, the pain set in.

On your abdomen were three big slashes, probably four inches long, and wide open. The searing pain made you almost blind, and you stumbled forward. He caught you, and carefully lifted you with an arm under you head, and legs.

“We need to move quickly,” he said, though his face was blurry and his words meant nearly nothing to you. “That thing will be back to finish the job. Must have just gotten out after quite a stint, it was disoriented. I need to get you to my place to get those wounds dealt with.”

You were sure you were nodding, but he didn’t seem to react. Maybe your head was just spinning. All you knew was that you felt extreme cold as he carried you out of the house. There was a big yellow car waiting outside, and another man helped carry you into the back seat where you laid down.

Something was laid on top of you as a makeshift blanket, and that was the last you remembered before you heard one more big bang, and passed out.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Muffled voices woke you, but you wished they hadn’t. With consciousness came pain. Although not nearly as severe as the pain you vaguely remembered, it was enough to require some serious meds. 

You blinked your eyes open, and let them adjust to unfamiliar lights in the room. You had the weirdly dream-like knowledge that you were underground. Feeling the soft sheets beneath you, your eyes traveled down to where you knew you didn’t want to look. 

Your abdomen was bandaged now, proof that what you remembered was real. Something had attacked you. Something had left a gaping hole in your wall. That hole could have been in you, you realized. 

Constantine. 

The name rang in your head loudly, almost as loud as the pain. You hissed when you tried to sit up, apparently summoning the two men from the adjacent room.

Opening the already slightly ajar door, Constantine and another man walked inside. The unknown man stood by the door, while the blonde came to stand next to you. 

“Wasn’t sure you’d make it, luv,” he admitted, looking almost relieved. 

“Something tells me you’re not FBI,” you said, trying your best at some humor.

Grateful for the small laugh it created, you tried again to sit up. 

“No, no no,” Constantine warned, pressing your shoulders gently back onto the mattress. “No moving right now. Spells still need some time.”

You shook your head, trying to clear it. 

“Spells?” you asked, surely you’d misheard. 

“Should I leave you alone for all the explaining?” the man by the door asked, sounding like they’d done this before. 

John cast him a wry look and nodded. 

“Yeah, sod off. I’ll call you when I need you.”

The man closed the door behind him, leaving you and Constantine alone in a very quiet room. You hadn’t had the chance to really look around yet, but it looked like what you’d imagine an old alchemist’s room might look like. There were shelves with bottles and objects that all looked very old and very strange. The lights that hung from the ceiling were warm, casting all the reddish wood with a glow that was comforting, if still foreign.

Constantine sat on the bed, carefully carelessly, if you could describe it in any way. He didn’t jostle you at all, but nor did he make a show of being gentle. You wondered if that was what he was like as a person, carefully carelessly, pretending to have a devil-may-care attitude, but actually cautiously considering each move.

His red tie was loose around his neck, and his white dress shirt was rolled up to his elbows. He lit another cigarette before speaking again. 

“I’m sorry to have to bring you into all this mess,” he said, and seemed to mean it. “I do my job so folks like you don't have to know.”

“And what’s your job, exactly?”

“Many things,” Constantine said. “Mostly magic related, sprinkled with some demons and world-saving.”

“So you’re a hero then?” you asked. 

He nearly coughed as he laughed. 

“I wouldn’t go that far, pet.”

His eyes went from his cigarette to your body, but this time he wasn’t looking at the wounds on your stomach. He was just  _ looking _ at you. Unapologetically. You were sure from his perspective he got quite an eyeful from your too-short crop top. He smiled slightly, and met your judgemental gaze. 

He merely smirked and took another puff on his cigarette. 

“So magic and monsters are real then?” you asked. Testing it out on your tongue.    
“Yep.”

“And you use magic to fight the monsters?”

“And to win at poker,” he winked. 

“How did you find me?” you asked. 

“Scrying map,” he explained. “Left to me by an old friend.”

“And you saved me from…”

“A demon,” he said. “I think.”

“You think?”

“If you’ll recall, it did happen fairly quickly. And not much is left to go back and investigate.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. 

“I mean, the whole place burned down seconds after we left it.”

Your body went numb. Everything you owned was gone. 

“Sorry, luv,” Constantine said quietly, placing a hand on your thigh for a moment before pulling it away. 

“Yeah,” you muttered, trying to process it. Well, this was one way to get a new start. “So am I safe now?”

“Not by a long shot,” Constantine said. “We have no idea why that demon was after you. And until we do, you’re staying here.”

“Where is here?” you asked. 

“My place. We’re in Georgia,” he answered. 

“How did we get here?” you asked. “Surely they wouldn’t have let you drag me on a flight.”

He gave you a look.

“Oh, magic?” you guessed. He nodded and winked at you. 

Checking his watch, he flicked his hand, making his cigarette disappear. Before you could react or ask any questions, he had moved up the bed towards you. 

“I’m afraid it’s time to change your bandages,” he said. 

You winced, not wanting to see what was beneath the pink pads. 

His hands were surprisingly gentle, taking care to pull the bandage adhesives slowly and carefully. It didn’t hurt for that part. You dared to look down at the red mess that was your stomach. The slashes were to the left of your belly button, causing angry reddening around them. They did seem surprisingly smaller than you remembered, though.

He reached over your head to a shelf above the bed, and again you smelled him involuntarily. It was almost a familiar smell to you now. Comforting, the smell of safety. Perhaps your brain should have associated it with violence and pain, but it didn’t. And when he pulled back, having gotten the salve off the shelf, you were much calmer.

“This might hurt a little,” he admitted, globbing the green salve onto his hands. 

You nodded and clenched your jaw in anticipation. He smoothed the gel over your wounds, but it didn’t feel as you’d thought it might. The gel was cold, and helped to numb the pain. It caused the wound to throb as if it were trying to fight it, but eventually it calmed as well. His hand glided over your skin, and you would have blushed at the accidental touch to your breast had you not been so concentrated on the process. He placed new bandages over the wound, and you relaxed. He placed the salve on the shelf again, and grabbed a towel off the stand beside the bed to wipe his hands on.

“Thanks,” you said, feeling wiped. 

“No problem,” he said, avoiding your gaze. 

“I mean for everything,” you said, reaching for his arm. He looked back at you, at your hand on him. “For saving me,” you said. 

He nodded, but looked somewhat distracted, like he was fighting with himself over something.

“‘S my job,” he shrugged, standing. You let your hand fall gently back to the bed. 

“Well, you’re good at it.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded.    
“Rest,” he commanded. 

And he didn't have to say it twice. You passed out before he closed the door behind him.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The second time waking up was a lot easier. You knew where you were. What had happened. Why you felt pain. And the pain was less, thankfully. Whatever he’d been putting on it had helped at least dull the pain to a dull roar instead of the fire from hell it had been.

You winced, but you were able to sit up. With no windows, and no phone, you had no idea what time it was, or how long you’d been here. Unlike last time, Constantine didn’t seem to hear you wake up. You were alone in the room.

You couldn’t believe you were still in these clothes. Of course your least favorite shirt and one pair of panties were the only things you owned now. The thought made your stomach churn. And then you realized part of that was also hunger. It must have been at least twelve hours since you ate something. 

Breathing, and moving very slowly, you brought yourself up to a seated position. Using your arms as much as you could to avoid using your abdominal muscles, you swung your legs over the side of the bed, and attempted, with some difficulty, to stand. You managed to make it to the attached bathroom after a few moments steadying yourself on your feet.

Afterwards, very slowly, you reached the bedroom door. It opened onto a sight you gaped at. 

Surrounding a spiral staircase was a larger version of your room. Shelves lined every wall with different bottles, beakers, books, and art. There was a couch, a table with some chairs, and lots of empty bottles of liquor. 

Constantine was hunched over a book at the large table, and looked up when he heard the door. It took him a moment, but he realized what you were doing, and sped over to you quickly. 

“What are you doing out of bed, luv?” he asked. 

And for the first time, with a clearer head, you heard the lush tones of his voice, the heavy accent, the pet name. 

“Hungry,” you shrugged. 

This bought you a laugh as Constantine slid an arm around your waist, guiding you to a chair at the table he’d been sat at. 

“A girl after my own heart,” he said, putting his hand to his chest, and taking a few steps toward the back of the room which seemed to house a fridge and some cabinets. “Why don’t we just start with some eggs, see how it sits, eh?” he suggested. 

“Sure,” you smiled. 

You wanted to go over there, to be next to him, to feel safe. But you couldn’t. You sat where you were and took in the room around you. 

“This place has just about every protection and concealment spell you can think of,” Constantine said confidently. “Nothing’s goin’ to find you in here. This place has a kind of magic of it’s own,” he smiled. “She protects me, even when I don’t deserve it.”

While that did make you feel good, you’d feel even better if he was sitting next to you. You were starting to thing you had some serious attachment issues with this stranger. 

It didn’t take long for him to cook you the eggs, and he came over with a plate and a glass of water. He went back and got a glass of whiskey for himself. 

You dug into the eggs eagerly and your stomach growled its thanks. Constantine watched with a small smile on his lips. His eyes still wandered down your body, and you blushed slightly, wondering if he was conscious of how blatantly he was staring at you. 

“How long have I been here?” you asked.

“About a day,” he said. Longer than you’d thought. 

“It’s healing fast,” you said. 

“Mmm, better than I’d thought. Demon wounds can be tricky sometimes.”

“So you’re also a healer?”

“Just enough to get by,” he shrugged. 

“I have a lot of questions, but also none. Does that make sense?”

He smiled a crooked smile. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Too many. Too much to process. They’ll come when they need to come.”

“And you’ll answer them?”

“I’ll try.”

You nodded and looked at the table. 

“What time is it now?”

“A little after seven in the evening.”

“Can I have a drink of that then?” you smirked, nodding to the whiskey.

He raised his eyebrow at you. 

“Had you pegged for a wine girl.”

Regardless, he got up and poured you a sizable glass. 

“You’re not the only mystery here,” you jested.

It was good whiskey, and it warmed you up just enough. Still, you were starting to realize you didn’t have anything else to change into should you need it. 

“I don’t suppose you have a closet of women’s clothes in just my size somewhere down here, do you?” you asked. 

He shook his head and took another sip. 

“Shockingly not, luv. Chas is out now, I’ll tell him to pick you up some things.”

“Chas?”

“My partner. Of sorts. The guy who was here before. The one who drove the cab we brought you here in.”

You nodded, sipping on your drink. 

“Might be a while though, he’s with his girl. It’s her birthday.”

“How old?”

“Eight.”

“And this is his day job? With you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Do you have a family?” you asked. 

Constantine took a huge gulp of whiskey before answering. 

“No.”

“Me either,” you shrugged. “Not really, anyway.”

“To loners,” he raised his glass. 

“To loners,” you laughed. 

You clinked and drank. 

“So you don't have any idea why a demon would be after you?” he asked. “No Ouija boards or weird old ladies on the street cursing you?”

“Not that I know of,” you laughed. “I just moved here like a week ago.”

“Did you touch anything in the apartment? Anything that was already there?”

You thought back to the day you’d moved in. It seemed like ages ago. They probably thought you’d committed arson and run away by now.

A memory came to you, though. An old box you’d found. It was small, like a ring box, but wooden.

“I mean there was this weird wooden box,” you recalled. “Had a weird symbol on it, kinda looked like a dragon maybe.”

“What was inside?”

You blinked. 

“Nothing.”

Constantine nodded.

“It’ll take some research but that does ring a very dusty bell.”

“Well, doesn’t look like we’re getting any research done tonight,” you noted, looking at your empty glasses.

You were no lightweight by any means, but you were drinking a full glass of whiskey on nearly an empty stomach. It was starting to take effect rather quickly. You felt your cheeks flush with the way you saw him looking at you. His eyes drifted where they liked, and didn’t seem apologetic about it. 

You grimaced as a small, dull, pain went through your side.

“Alright, luv?” he asked. 

“Mm, yeah I think so,” you answered. “Just sore from sitting up on the hard chair. Maybe I’ll go sit on the couch for a minute.”

“You wanna go back to bed?”

“I’m wide awake,” you laughed. 

“Me too,” he smiled softly. 

He hooked an arm around your waist and gently helped you over to the couch. Before joining you, he poured you both another glass and sat down, leaving almost a foot of distance between you. 

Glancing at the mirror that hung on the wall opposite the couch, you noticed something strange. You didn’t see a reflection in it. Or rather, not your reflection. You saw Constantine and Chas. They were sitting on the couch, Constantine had his head in his hands, and Chas seemed to be comforting him.

“What is that?” you asked. 

Constantine looked up from his glass to see what you were pointing at.

“Ah. It shows the recent past,” he explained. “Quite useful sometimes. Mostly just annoying.”

“That’s last night?” you guessed. 

He nodded grimly. 

“Didn’t think you were gonna pull through,” he admitted, barely looking at the reflection. 

You smiled cautiously. 

“You were worried about me?” you asked, teasingly pushing his leg with your foot. 

His laugh was hollow, and his smile sad. 

“Thought I’d lose another one,” he said, almost to himself. 

“Another one?”

He pressed his lips together and inhaled sharply, leaning his elbows on his knees. 

“Why did you move?” he deflected. 

You sighed, leaning back into the comfortable, well-used couch.

“Bad break up,” you said. “Wanted a clean start.”

“How’s that going, then?” he smirked. 

It was your turn to laugh half-heartedly. 

“Well, I made a new friend,” you shrugged, giving him a look.

“Is that what we are, pet?” he asked. 

The way he said it made you shiver. Yes? You thought. Certainly someone who saved your life and took care of you could be called a friend. You blushed when the thought crossed your mind that maybe he thought you could be more than friends.

“Do you know what friends do?” you asked, taking a huge sip of whiskey. 

“What’s that?” he asked, his eyes turning a shade darker.

“They lend each other clothes,” you said seriously, before breaking out laughing. 

He chuckled and shook his head, making to get up. 

“Um, can I make a request?” you stopped him. 

He looked at you, quirking an eyebrow.

“Can I have that one?” you asked, pointing at him. 

He touched his shirt, making it puff out slightly. 

“The one I’m wearing?” he asked. 

You nodded. 

“You literally want the shirt off my back?”

Taking another drink, you sighed. 

“It’s going to sound stupid why.”

He sat down, closer to you this time, and waited for an explanation. You stared at your drink as you spoke.

“When you… rescued me… when you pinned me against that wall, I was so close to you… I kind of associate your scent with, um, safety? With not dying?”

You bit your lip as you dared to raise your gaze to him, waiting for him to laugh at you. Instead, you saw a bit of wonder in those dark eyes. He relaxed, leaning into the couch, and thought for a moment. 

“Someone associates me with  _ not _ dying?” he asked, almost to himself. “That’s a first.”

You waited for whatever was going through his head to die down. He finally looked at you and slowly took off his tie. He placed it on the table, and started unbuttoning his shirt. 

“I feel like I should have some ones to stick on you,” you joked. 

He smiled as he finished unbuttoning and shrugged his shirt off. He handed it to you, but your attention was on his body. And not because he was well built, or handsome, but because of the texture of his skin. He had scars of all shapes and sizes like freckles sprinkled unevenly around his torso. 

“Ah, yeah. Not the prettiest sight, I’m afraid. Don’t think Magic Mike would hire me.”

You didn’t think before reaching out and touching his chest, running your fingers gently along some of the scars. You caught yourself, your brain catching up to the whiskey, and pulled your hand back. Constantine was watching you carefully. 

“I’m sorry,” you muttered. 

“‘S alright, luv,” he answered softly. 

“You’ve seen a lot of dangers, huh?” you asked. He nodded. 

“Although this one was just from a bar fight with a human,” he smirked, pointing to a scar on his shoulder.

“I feel like I haven’t lived at all.”

“You’ve lived a life. I’m not sure you could say the same for me.”

“What would you call it?”

“Hell?” he ventured. 

Your heart sunk. This man who risked everything to save you seemed so broken. It didn’t seem to be the hero’s fate he deserved in your eyes. He held your gaze for a moment, but seemed to think better of it and looked away, shifting slightly back away from you. 

You took the moment to turn around, rid yourself of your crop top, and don his shirt, buttoning up to just above your cleavage.

Standing, just to shimmy it down and let it cover your underwear, you heard Constantine whistle. 

“How is it you look better in that than me?” he asked, taking a big sip. He looked you up and down and winked playfully. 

It was a practiced move, one you’d done yourself. If you feel vulnerable or threatened, make a joke. When you didn’t smile, his face dropped. 

“Sorry, luv, I thought--”

“No, it’s not that,” you stopped him, sitting back down. “It’s just… I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry you’ve been through Hell.”

“And let me tell you, with all that heat, I didn’t even tan.”

You sighed, resigned to accept his humor as a defense. For now. 

“How’s it smell?” he asked cheekily, looking at the shirt.

You raised the collar to your cheeks and inhaled. Immediately, you felt happier. The smell of smoke and him surrounded you. Your eyes fluttered open. 

“Safe,” you answered. 

He nodded with a small smile on his lips. 

“You want another one?” he asked, getting up to fill his glass.

“How much do you usually drink?” you asked.

“As much as it takes to sleep.”

“I’m all set, thank you,” you answered. He shrugged and got another glass. 

When he returned, he sat close to you. You had your back to the arm rest, knees tucked up, giving your stomach muscles some much needed rest. Thankfully the additional whiskey had numbed any pain you’d felt. You studied Constantine carefully. By the light from behind him, you could see his features outlined cleanly. He was handsome, you knew that already. But when you looked closer you could see the wear on his features. The worry lines on his face, the slight bags under the eyes from many nightmares. He somehow seemed the most strong and the most delicate thing all at once. 

“Is it hard for you to sleep?” you asked. 

He looked at you and laughed. 

“You could say that, luv.”

“I used to have insomnia all the time,” you empathized. 

“‘S not so much the falling asleep as the not waking up screaming bit,” he said, taking a large sip.

You bit your lip, unsure how to answer. You’d had the odd nightmare now and again, but you were sure none of them matched up to the things he’d seen. In that moment all you wanted to do was make him smile. 

“I always have nightmares that I’m naked in public,” you winked. 

“Doesn’t sound like a nightmare to me,” he said, and you prided yourself on the half smile you brought to his features. 

“Yeah well,” you blushed. “I’m sure you’d be happy to show the world your… attributes,” you giggled. “But I’m a bit more… I don’t know, conservative I guess.”

“Wouldn’t have guessed,” he eyed you in his shirt.

“If you’ll recall, I was facing a demon and hot as hell,” you pointed out.

“Could have put on a robe, luv,” he shrugged. 

You laughed and kicked him lightly with your foot. 

The two of you talked about nothing for a few more minutes before you started to get sleepy. 

“I think I’m going to hit the hay,” you said, through a yawn.

“Night, pet,” he said, raising his glass to you as you rose. He took another long sip, finishing the glass, and got up, presumably for another. 

You cast a worried glance his way, and he caught it, sighing and shaking his head.

“Don’t give me that look,” he warned. 

“What look?” you asked, guilty. 

“Sympathy.”

“It’s not--” he cast you a look. “Okay, it is. I’m just… worried,” you admitted. “Maybe you should try another therapy for your nightmares other than alcohol?”

He sighed and gave you a hollow smile. 

“G’night, luv,” he said. 

There was no room for discussion. You nodded, bid him goodnight, and went to bed.

 


	4. Chapter 4

You stared at the ceiling for a long time before getting out of bed. You could hear Constantine in the kitchen, making breakfast for himself. It was strange that this was your life now. Waking up in a strange bed, hearing strange sounds, fearing possession at every moment. All because you’d touched a seemingly harmless object. How many people did he meet this way? You wondered. How many people strayed into this lifestyle by accident?

Part of you wished you could go back to not knowing anything about this world. But then you wouldn’t know anything about him. And something about that just felt wrong.

You smelled the shirt he’d given you last night. You’d showered and everything, but you were loath to change clothes. The anxiety that haunted your every waking, and dreaming, moment was only manageable because you felt safe. Safe in his shirt, safe in this place. With him. You sort of hoped Chas never returned with new clothes.

Managing to pull yourself relatively pain-free out of bed, you got up and walked into the kitchen. Constantine heard your door shut, and looked up. It seemed to you that he froze in time. He saw you walking and just stared at you, over-filling a water glass until he felt the liquid hit his feet. He stuttered, cleaned up quickly, and greeted you. 

You wondered vaguely if your bed head was so bad he couldn’t help but stare.

“You’re turning me into a domestic housewife,” he teased, handing you a plate with some bacon and eggs on it.

“Does that mean you’ll start wearing a frilly apron for me?” you asked. 

He sneered playfully at you before joining you at the table.

“Sleep okay?” you asked cautiously. You could see by the darkness under his eyes that he had not.

“Yeah,” he said, scarily convincingly. 

You nodded slowly, digging into the eggs.

“You?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you answered truthfully. “I think my body just really needs the rest. Never slept so well.”

“Good,” he nodded. 

“So what’re we doing today?” you asked.

He shrugged. 

“Chas is still busy out there taking care of some business. Should be by tomorrow with some clothes for you and some books for me.”

“Books?” you asked. “About my demon thing?”

“Hopefully,” Constantine nodded. “It’s pretty rare. Hoping he can tap into our friends’ resources for this one.”

“Does that make me high maintenance?” you laughed. 

This earned you a small smile.

“A bit,” he smirked.

“So we have the day to just… relax?” you asked. “When was the last time you did that?”

Constantine let out a breath that made a puffing sound. 

“Twenty years ago?” he wagered. 

You were going to laugh, but you saw that he was serious. 

“Seriously?”

“I’ve been busy,” he shrugged. 

“So what do you suggest we do?”

“I suppose we should teach you a thing or two of how to protect yourself,” he said. 

“You’re trying to tell me that mace isn’t going to work against this demon?” you smirked. 

“Well, just in case it doesn’t,” he winked.

The two of you ate the rest of your breakfast, and you followed Constantine to a long room down the hall from your bedroom. It consisted of a table on one end, and a target board on the other. Similar to a shooting range, you noted, except the target wasn’t human shaped. It was more of a horned, gelatinous shape.

You looked carefully at the different knives at the table. None of them looked like kitchen knives. All had handles of wood with intricate carvings on them. The blades were all different sizes and shapes. They made your skin crawl.

“We’re going to throw these?” you asked.

“You’re going to,” he said. “Or rather, I’ll teach you.”

“I’m guessing you can’t just shoot a demon then?”

He chuckled. 

“Most demons are susceptible to magical knives,” he said. “You can carve protection spells, banishing spells, that sort of thing into them. Not so easy to carve a bullet.”

“Or economical,” you noted, almost to yourself, but it earned you a slight smile.

“Doesn’t kill ‘em, but it slows ‘em down. You know, you’re taking this whole thing surprisingly well,” he noted. 

“I saw a thing blow a hole in my wall and scratch me half to hell,” you shrugged. “Don’t have to do much more to make me believe anything’s possible.”

He still watched you carefully for a moment, as if not believing you, but he soon let his attention drift to the knives.

“Pick one up, hold it by the blade, and fling it at the target,” he suggested. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

You took a breath and chose the smallest knife, carefully handling the blade between your thumb and forefinger. You stood at the mark that was made on the floor, and stood with your feet together. You couldn’t help but close your eyes as you flung the knife towards the wall. Opening them once it left your hand, you saw it hit the wall about three feet away from the target to the left.

“I’m a natural,” you grinned at him, picking up another knife.

He suppressed a smile and came to stand behind you. He was about to reach around you, but thought better of it for the moment. 

“Do you mind?” he asked, still hovering around your body. 

Your head nodded without your permission, and soon his body was pressed against yours. You could feel his chest against your back, his hips against yours. 

“Your stance is wrong, for a start,” he nearly whispered in your ear. “You have to stand like this. Bring this leg back.”

He put his left hand on your left hip and let his hand slide just below your hip bone. Your shaking leg slid back so you were more lunging than standing.

“Keep your back straight,” he said, leaving your hip to press very gently just to the right of your wound. This pressed your back even firmer against him.

You were finding it very difficult to concentrate. His scent was all around you. You smelled his first cigarette of the day, and that same scent of safety that you couldn’t describe.

“Your shoulder should be here,” he said, ghosting a hand up from your stomach, just over your chest, and landing on your shoulder. You felt the heat in your cheeks but hoped he couldn’t sense it. He gently pushed your shoulder back before sliding his hand down your arm and resting his hand around your wrist.

You turned slightly to look at him and he merely smiled. 

“Eyes ahead, luv,” he said softly, two inches away from your lips. 

You did as you were told after a moment’s hesitation. He slid his right hand along your arm, ending at your hand. You were as close as you could possibly be to each other. His left hand shifted from your wrist back to your waist to make sure your hips were aligned to his liking. 

“Now,” he said. “Look at the target. Imagine the knife not just landing there, but going through there.” 

He moved your right arm in the way he wanted you to move the knife. 

“Right here is where you release,” he said, once your arm was parallel with the floor.

You nodded slightly, feeling the scruff of his jaw graze your cheek. 

“Ready?” he asked. 

“Yes,” you answered, too breathlessly. 

You could feel him smirking while he guided your hand up and readied the knife. Together you threw the knife towards the target. To your surprise, it landed square in the middle. You jumped in excitement, whirling around to see Constantine’s reaction.

You’d forgotten how close he was. Turning around brought you mere inches away from his face. You were grinning like an idiot and saw, very intimately, the proud smile he wore on his face. You stopped jumping and just stayed there for a moment. Too close to him, and yet not close enough. You saw his tongue dart out to wet his lower lip and you took a breath, forcing yourself to take a step backwards. 

“You’re a good teacher,” you managed, looking at the floor. 

“Shockingly, no one wants me around their children,” he said, lighting a cigarette. 

You laughed softly to yourself and got ready to try again. 

“Nuh no, luv,” you heard from behind you, and again you felt his body against yours. “Hips like this,” he said, both hands angling your hips just so. You felt him linger longer than necessary, and you didn’t want the feeling of his body against yours to end. You contemplated moving your hips out of place to make him come back to you, but decided against it. When his hands did leave you, they traipsed ever so delicately along your lower back before leaving your body completely.

Constantine watched from a few paces back, smoking with an intense look in his eye. You put your body in the same position it had been, feeling the ghost of what he’d felt like behind you, and sighed. Aiming, you hit the body of the demon, albeit not the direct center. Still, it was a victory, and you looked back at him, excited. 

He was leaning against the wall, one foot crossed over the other. 

“Again,” he said, out of the side of his mouth unburdened by the cigarette. 

You did as instructed and threw all the knives with varying amounts of success. At least all of them hit within six inches of the target.

“Not bad,” he applauded from the corner once you’d turned around. 

“Can I see you do it?” you asked.

He smiled and muttered something under his breath. The knives came flying towards you both, and you flinched, but without need. The knives returned to the table as they’d started.

It took you a minute to catch your breath, realizing you were in no danger. It took him a minute to clock your reaction. 

“Sorry, luv,” he said, taking a step towards you and laying a hand gently on your arm. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Just how I reset.”

You nodded, and after a moment of assessing that you were okay, he turned his attention to the knives. Cigarette in his mouth the whole time, Constantine threw the knives so rapidly, it made your eyes question if they were seeing the right thing.

All of them hit main points in the targets mere inches away from each other. He turned around, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and smirked. 

You tried not to look impressed. 

“Eh, that was alright I guess,” you said, suppressing a smile. 

“Was it?” he asked, stubbing out his cigarette and walking predatorily over to you. 

Instinctively, you backed up, but your body hit the wall before you’d taken five steps. He continued walking over to you across the room. 

“Just alright?” he asked with a smirk on his face. 

It was one thing to have his concerned attention on you, one thing to have his teaching attention on you. This was something different. He was teasing you, but it wasn’t just friendly teasing. The heat in his eyes made you stop breathing.

You did your best to look cool and collected. 

“That’s what I said,” you shrugged. 

He stopped when he was about six inches away from your face, eyes still alight with mischievous joy. 

“What would it take to impress you, I wonder,” he asked. 

“A clean scan of your lungs?” you guessed. 

Clearly he was expecting something equal to his flirtatiousness, because he laughed.  A true, genuine, unexpected, laugh. And you laughed along with him until you thought of something. How often did he get to laugh like this? You wanted, in that moment, to make it happen more often. At least as long as you were staying here. And for all you knew, that was going to be a while.

When he stopped laughing, a smile remained on his face, along with a small sense of wonder. He shook his head, as if answering a question only he could hear, and gestured towards the knives. 

“Again,” he ordered. 

And you spent the afternoon like that, learning a few different tactics to defend yourself with. You hoped you’d never need them, but you were glad to know them. And it was fun, spending time with him. Sometimes, when you managed to make him smile, you could almost forget that there was an angry demon intent on killing you out there.


	5. Chapter 5

“I think that’s enough for today,” Constantine said, around dinner time. 

You’d been practicing all day on various techniques to defend yourself. You were wiped.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” you nodded.

You ate a fast dinner, and Constantine was quick to pull out the liquor for dessert. He poured you both a large glass, and you drank gratefully. It didn’t take long for you to start feeling happily woozy. He relaxed into the middle cushion of the couch, and you took the end, watching him. 

He was so talented in so many ways. He was unlike anyone you’d ever met before, or would meet again. 

“So what kind of magic can you do?” you asked. “Just demon fighting stuff?”

“No,” he admitted. “Some useless stuff too.”

You laughed and motioned for him to show you something. He sighed and muttered a few words, making a few fluid motions with his hands. Out of nowhere, a rose appeared, stem first, and then flower, blooming out of nothing. Your jaw dropped. 

“Holy shit,” you exclaimed. He handed the rose to you. You smelled it. It was totally real. “You really are magic.”

“I use magic, luv. I’m not personally magic. Really the opposite,” he laughed, taking a sip.

You marvelled at your rose and thought of all the things he’d done for you. 

“I think you’re magic,” you said, keeping your eyes on the rose, but feeling his gaze on you.

Laying the rose on the end table, you shuffled carefully closer to him, placing your legs over his so they formed a T. You let your head rest on the back of the couch. He turned to face you, eyebrow raised, and rested his hands on the tops of your legs. Your faces were now dangerously close together, and you caught his scent. Not to mention, as soon as your bodies touched, you felt the heat from him. Felt the safety of another human next to you. It was like a drug.

“Can I help you?” he asked playfully. 

“No,” you smirked. “Just wanted to be closer.”

“Not something people usually say to me.”

“What do they usually say?”

“Piss off.”

“I can see it,” you teased. 

“What do people usually say to you?” he asked. 

“Mmm, I don’t know. Nothing?” you answered. “Nobody notices me.”

“This demon did.”

“Not my intended audience,” you admitted. 

“Tell me about your breakup,” he said. 

“Why?” you asked. 

“Might be relevant if it’s not that box we’re looking for. Maybe the ex was into the occult. Maybe he summoned it.”

“I doubt it. He was a boring accountant.”

“I’ve seen boring accountants do some wild things,” he said. “You never saw anything at his place? Any weird looking herbs or plants? Anything like you see in here?”

You looked around the room and shook your head. 

“Nope,” you said. 

“Why’d you break up?” he asked. 

“He was boring,” you shrugged. “And he cheated on me.”

“That’s arguably not boring, pet.”

“Not boring,” you conceded. “But not cool. You ever been cheated on?” you asked. 

He grimaced. 

“Hate to say it, but I’m usually the cheater.”

You weren’t surprised to hear him say this, but you were a little disappointed. 

“Yikes,” was all you said. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, taking a long drink. “But I don’t go around advertising fidelity at least.”

“Why do you do it?” you asked. He looked at you, confused. “I mean, I never understood why my ex did it. So why do you?”

“I mean I don’t try to make a regular habit of it,” he said. “But… I suppose…” he took another long drink. “I suppose I usually cheat when things are getting too… real. When people get too close.”

Like the humor, you noted. He had many defense mechanisms apparently.

“Wow, was that honesty?” you gasped overdramatically. 

Constantine chuckled softly.

“You caught me in a rare mood,” he said. 

“Don’t want anyone getting close, huh?” you asked. “What about Chas?”

“I don’t like people getting close because people die. Chas has died many times.”

You blinked, unsure if he was kidding. He gave you a look. 

“I’m not kidding. He’s got a few lives left. Long story. But he would be dead if not for that.”

“You’ve lost a lot of people?”

“A lot,” he agreed grimly. 

“I’ve lost some people too. Good people.”

He nodded. 

“Were any of them your fault?” he asked. 

“No,” you admitted. 

“Well, that makes one of us,” he sighed. 

Your heart broke for him. While you didn't know him well, you knew that he had done the best he could to save you, and succeeded. You couldn’t imagine him purposefully killing anyone he cared about. 

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this,” you said, taking one of his hands in yours.

He looked at your hand in his and sighed, as if allowing this action to continue against his better judgement. You weren’t sure if he was leaning in towards you, or if you’d both edged closer, but suddenly you found that your face hovered close to his. You could feel his breath on your lips, feel the energy of his skin. Your eyes fluttered closed and your lips just barely touched, just ghosting over each other before you pulled away. 

“You should get some rest, luv,” he said, sliding his hand out of yours and pulling away from your face. His tone was normal, though the fluttering in your chest was anything but.

You scolded yourself. Surely you didn’t want to be with a man who just informed you he was never faithful to women and got nearly everyone he knew killed? You thanked the forces of the universe that he hadn’t leant in just a little more.

“Yeah, bed,” you agreed. 

He helped you up, leaving his hand in yours as he led you down the now familiar hallway to your room. His fingers flexed, and you felt them interlaced with your own. He still held the glass in his other hand, and finished the drink. He looked at you for a moment, and you thought he might ask you something. You didn’t want to be the one to separate them. 

“G’night, luv,” he said, reluctantly slipping his hand out of yours, giving you a moment’s glance, and walking down the hallway.

 


	6. Chapter 6

When you woke up, the first thing you thought of was Constantine. And not because of what had happened the night before, but of the scent that surrounded you, still emanating from the shirt he’d given you.

As much as you kind of wanted to avoid seeing Constantine, the thought of seeing him sitting at that table, reading some literally godforsaken book was exciting. You didn’t like the fact that your heart started beating faster when you thought about him, or that your skin tingled at his contact. You didn’t like the fact that when he looked at you in that way, your knees felt weak, or that sometimes you wanted to run your fingers through his hair. 

You told yourself to chill the fuck out. It was unbelievable that you’d even consider this. You were from different worlds. Not only would he never go for someone like you, but you’d be crazy to go for someone like him. This was dangerous. And yet, you couldn’t help imagining it. Somehow you seemed like the most important thing in the world when he looked at you. That wasn’t something you just forgot about.

You exited your room, and, taking a quick glance around the place, you didn’t see him. Maybe it was too early. The clock on the wall said it was around nine in the morning. While you didn’t see the blonde man, you did see another. 

Chas sat at the table eating something that smelled delicious. Shutting the door gently behind you, you ventured out. 

“Morning,” he greeted with a gruff voice and a small smile. “Breakfast?”

“Sure,” you nodded.

You took a seat opposite him, and he poured you a large bowl of cereal, pushing the milk towards you. After taking a few bites, you finally broke the silence. 

“Thanks for helping to save me,” you said. “It doesn’t sound like enough but… thank you.”

“That’s our job,” he smiled.    
He seemed lighter than Constantine, less affected somehow. Maybe because he had that family to run off to and remind him of what he was protecting. 

“Where is your partner in crime?” you asked, dreading the answer. 

“Went out on a job. Should be back tonight.”

You nodded, moving your spoon around your bowl.

“Seems to have taken a shine to you,” Chas said, watching you carefully. 

“Why do you say that?” you asked, genuinely confused. 

“You’re wearing his shirt, aren’t you?” he asked. 

You blushed.    
“Oh, I mean, I didn’t…  _ We _ didn’t--”

“I know,” Chas laughed. “I just mean… Trust me. He’s taken a liking.”

You frowned, unsure if this were true. 

“How’s your wound?” Chas asked. 

You hadn’t even felt it when you woke up. 

“Much better,” you admitted. 

“Is the bandage any more red?” he asked. “Did it bleed more?”

You checked under your shirt and shook your head. 

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“Good. We can wait to change the bandage till later then.”

“What was that stuff you put on it?” you asked. 

“Oh lots of stuff. Mostly blessed herbs and plant extract. John murmured a little extra magic mojo over it too.”

He said it so carelessly that it seemed normal to you.

“He seems pretty talented,” you noted. 

“He’s a lot of things,” Chas said. “Talented is only one of them.”

“And the others?”

“Mainly asshole, cynic, and asshole.”

You chuckled, and Chas smiled. 

“Maybe that’s why we get along so well,” you joked.

“Oh, I got you some clothes,” Chas said, pulling out a bag from under the table. “Had to guess your size. Hope it’s okay.”

“Thank you so much,” you beamed, taking the bag.

“No problem,” he said.

Looking through the clothes, part of you wished you could just keep wearing Constantine’s shirt. The smell of him had helped you get through the night. 

Still, the thought of wearing pants again was very enticing.

“You said he’ll be back tonight?” you affirmed. 

“Why, you got a date?” Chas teased. You blushed. 

“No,” you scoffed. “Just curious.”

“If he doesn’t die, yes,” he answered. 

While he was saying this nonchalantly, you knew he was serious. It was actually a real possibility, and your stomach churned.

“He’ll be fine,” Chas assured you. 

You nodded, unsure. 

“I’m just gonna go try some of these on,” you said. 

You took the bag of clothes to your room and sorted through them. You chose a pair of leggings and a nice big sweater, and came back out. 

“It’s all perfect,” you smiled, nearly bouncing over to Chas. “Thank you again.”

“Anytime, kid,” he smiled. You weren’t much younger than him, but appreciated the term of endearment nonetheless. 

“So… what am I supposed to do all day?”

“I have the day off,” Chas shrugged. “I was just gonna hang out. We could play some games or something.”

“Are you… guarding me?” you guessed. 

He rolled his eyes. 

“You are,” you laughed. “I’m so sorry. It’s the worst babysitting gig ever.”

“It’s not,” he assured you. “Keeping you safe is worthwhile, I promise.”

He seemed genuine, and you smiled at him. 

“A game sounds fun,” you said. 

You found Chas to be extremely easy to be around. While he had a lot in common with his partner in terms of a dry sense of humor, and an air of cynicism, he was fun. You didn’t feel sorry for him, or sense any kind of darkness really. He didn’t smoke or drink. Not that you were looking for a friend out of this situation, but it struck you as odd that of the two, even though Chas was making you laugh, and was easy to be around, even though you didn’t second guess yourself with him, you’d still choose to spend time with Constantine. For whatever reason, your heart longed for him. Perhaps you’d formed some kind of magical bond when he saved your life, like in Harry Potter. You laughed at the comparison inwardly. But still. While your day with Chas was fun, it didn’t mean anything to you. Not really. Not like how you’d felt last night on the couch with Constantine. That felt meaningful, like you were making a serious connection, even if he was resisting it.

You heard several locks turning above you, coming from the main entrance upstairs, late in the day.

“Guess he made it back alive,” Chas commented, looking up the staircase. “That’s my cue to go eat dinner with my family.”

You heard heavy boots start making their way down the stairs. 

“Hey, thanks for babysitting me,” you smiled. “It was great. And thanks again for the clothes.”

“Anytime,” he said. 

You hugged him then, as you might an uncle, and heard Constantine’s voice. 

“I leave for two seconds, and you’re right good chums, eh?” he asked. 

You broke away from Chas to look at him. Constantine was bleeding, or had bled recently. His right temple was all red. His shirt was slightly torn, and his trench coat was dirty. He dropped his bag onto the floor carelessly.

“She likes me better than you,” Chas shrugged, giving his friend a hefty pat on the shoulder. 

“Staying for dinner?” Constantine asked.

“Nah, taco night at home,” he said. 

“Why have tacos when you can have…” Constantine looked around his kitchen and frowned. “Um, booze I guess?”

“You really should grocery shop,” you laughed. 

“She’s smart. Keep her around,” Chas pointed at you. “Demon books are in your room,” he said to Constantine. “Night, kid,” he waved as he ascended the stairs.

Silence fell as the door closed upstairs. You looked at your feet.

“Nice sweater,” he said.

“Thanks,” you smiled. “Turns out Chas has a calling as a personal shopper.”

“Always knew he’d achieve great things,” Constantine said out of the side of his mouth as he lit a cigarette. 

Though it was probably giving you some kind of cancer from just being around all that smoke, it felt strangely comforting. He took a breath and rubbed his forehead with his hand. It came away with blood, pulling you out of your reverie. 

“Shit,” you muttered. “Go sit down, I’ll get something to clean that so we can have a look at it.”   
“It’s just a scratch,” he said.

“Sit down,” you ordered. 

You went to the kitchen to grab a cloth and ran it under some water. Constantine sat down at the table and loosened his tie, leaning back with his legs wide open.

You watched the easiness of him, the way he felt completely at home, the way he sucked on that cigarette and effortlessly exhaled plumes of smoke. You walked carefully over to him, pulling up a seat. 

“Playing nurse are we?” he smirked. 

It was that glint in his eye, that look that you were the only one in the world. You were sure he’d given it to loads of people. Perhaps he was sincere with all of them, perhaps not. Either way, you couldn’t control the way your heart beat hard against your ribs in response.

The blood was coming off easily enough, and revealed what Constantine had described. It was more or less a scratch. Nothing that even required stitches. 

“There,” you said. “That’ll be a thousand dollars.”

He chuckled and took another puff of his cigarette. 

“Are you trying to kill yourself before the demons can?” you asked, looking at the cancer stick. 

He frowned. 

“Trying and failing,” he answered dryly.

You went to stretch, and winced, your hands going to your wound. 

“We should take a look at that,” he said. He put his cigarette in his mouth and motioned for you to lift your shirt with his hands. “Up up,” he said out of half his mouth.

You lifted your shirt to show the bandage, and he peeled it away. 

“Just scars now,” he said. “Salve worked like a charm. Might take a little longer for some of those muscles to knit back together though.”

You looked down and saw the massive scars on your stomach. They looked seriously fierce. He crumpled the bandage and put it on the table. Then he ran his hand carefully over the area, sending shivers down your body.

Pulling back, you lowered your shirt as he rested his cigarette on an ashtray. He looked tired all of the sudden, and you watched as he laid his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table.

“You okay?” you asked, resisting the urge to comfort him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Sorry, luv. Lost in thought for a second there. Yeah,” he sighed. “Might lie down for a kip. Long day.”

“Did you save them? Whoever they were?” you asked. 

The corner of his lips twitched up into a small smile. 

“Yeah,” he said. 

“That’s good,” you smiled. 

“Mmm,” he mumbled. 

He rose and took his cigarette. 

“Wake me in an hour for dinner?” he asked. 

“Sure,” you nodded. 

You watched him leave down the hallway and out of the main rooms. You looked at the table, unsure of what to do. You’d never been alone here. You heard his door close, and decided to have a look around. Everything looked alien to you. Some of the books were in English, but none were titles you recognized. Unsurprising.

Still, it was fascinating just to look at all the artifacts and weird stuff that lined the walls and filled the drawers. You’d only been looking for about a half hour when you heard screams coming from Constantine’s room. 

Panicked, you quickly grabbed one of the knives from the walls and walked swiftly but carefully down the hallway. There was no way anyone had made it inside, right? As far as you knew, you’d been near the only entrance. Unless it was something invisible? Was that possible?

You made it to his room, and heard the anguished screams. It sounded like he was being tortured. With fear in your veins, you opened the door slowly and peeked inside. Finding nothing but a writhing Constantine, you pushed the door open the rest of the way, and walked to his bedside. 

Nightmares. 

His jaw was clenched so hard, his neck was straining. He was letting out low, guttural screams and grunts, and his fists tore through the air, nearly hitting you. When you saw an opening, you took it, running your hand up and down his arm and saying his name calmly. 

It took a moment, but he woke suddenly, sitting up immediately. 

“Why are you here?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. He seemed disoriented. “Why do you have a knife?”

“You were screaming,” you answered. “I thought someone might be hurting you.” 

He laid back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. You laid the knife on the nightstand.

“Only my own bloody demons,” he sighed.

You nodded, and slowly started to get up.

“Glad you’re okay,” you said. 

Feeling a tad intrusive having just run into his room and seeing him half naked in bed, you made for the door. You heard him say something, but were sure it must have been your mind playing with you.

“What?” you asked. 

“Would you… stay?” he repeated, like an embarrassed child. 

You raised an eyebrow. Get in bed with a nearly naked Constantine? It was like the universe was testing you. You gave him a look.

“Not trying anything, luv,” he promised, looking anything but seductive. “Just… need someone right now.”

He closed his eyes and didn’t smile. Your face dropped. He was seriously vulnerable right now, not even the humorous defense was up. 

Without saying another word, you slipped into his bed. You were going to turn around to lie down facing next to him, but before you could, he pulled you to him, pressing his chest to your back and wrapping his arm around your waist. He buried his face in your hair, and you wondered for a brief second if your scent was like safety to him too.

It only took moments for him to relax, and his grip on you loosened as he fell back to sleep. You managed to stay awake for only a few minutes longer than he had.

When you woke up, your stomach growled. Sensing your movement, Constantine shifted, stretching slightly and pulling you close to him. You managed to turn around in his arms and came face to face with the man. His face was peaceful, not yet fully conscious. He was utterly beautiful in this moment, totally untroubled. But it soon faded, and his eyes became their usual serious shade. 

“How long was I out?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” you answered. You peeked at his night stand. “It’s almost nine,” you answered. “Couple hours.”

“I thought I told you to wake me in one,” he teased, his mouth half muffled by the pillow.

“I might have fallen asleep on alarm clock duty,” you admitted. 

It was intoxicating being this close to him, being in his arms, his bed. You wanted to reach out to his bare chest and touch him, but you resisted. That’s not what he wanted. Or needed. What he needed right now was a friend.

“Dinner?” he asked, making no effort to move. 

“Yes please,” you nodded. 

“That means we have to get up.”

“Can’t you magic something in here?”

He chuckled, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

“Sadly no, luv,” he smiled. You sat up with him, doing your best not to stare, or look under the sheets. “I’ll order us a pizza,” he said. 

He reached over you to get his phone from the nightstand. Doing so caused your faces to pass dangerously close to each other, but you tried to suppress the butterflies in your stomach.

He seemed to linger in this position longer than necessary, your lips hovering over each others for just a moment before he pulled away.

He called a place that seemed to recognize him, and ordered a pizza. When it arrived, he went upstairs and brought it back down for you. He poured himself a drink, and you politely declined when he offered your one. Your feelings were potent enough without any help.

After stuffing your faces with pizza, you migrated to the couch. Constantine was a full drink and a half in, and you allowed yourself to study him. 

“What were your nightmares about?” you asked. 

“Nothing for you to worry about,” he promised. 

“You were screaming your head off,” you noted. “What makes The Great John Constantine scream?”

“A good shag,” he winked. You rolled your eyes. 

“Was it a memory or just something your mind decided to torture you with?” you asked. 

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. 

“The latter, if you must know,” he said. 

“I must,” you decided. “What was it then? Chas?”

“No.”

“You?”

“No.”

You hesitated, wanting and not wanting to know the answer to your next guess. 

“Me?” you managed. 

He let out a long breath and took a drink.

“What happened to me?” you asked. 

He rubbed his forehead with his finger and thumb and scrunched his eyes closed. 

“Nothing good,” he answered. 

“Do your dreams ever… come true?” you asked. 

“I’m not a psychic, luv,” he said. 

“Well I don’t know,” you shrugged. “That’s good I guess.”

“It is for you, yeah,” he laughed bitterly. “That was not something I want to see ever again.”

You cringed, not wanting to know the specifics anymore.

“Well, maybe once we figure this shit out, you won't feel like I’m in danger anymore, and you won’t dream it again.”

He looked unconvinced, but nodded. 

“Speaking of dreaming, I could get back to it,” you said, yawning. 

While you weren’t particularly tired, you didn’t want to be around him like this anymore. With the sadness in his eyes, the willpower you had to use not to hug him was exhausting. You got up, but he rose as well. 

“Can I ask you a favor?” he asked.

“Sure,” you shrugged. 

“Would you mind… sleeping next to me again?”

“Is that what you say to all the girls?” you asked. 

He managed a small smile and shook his head. 

“Usually the opposite,” he admitted. “I just… didn’t have any nightmares when you were there.”

“I’m not a dream catcher,” you countered. “I doubt it was anything other than me just waking you up.”

“Then do that,” he offered. “It’ll wake you anyway down the hall now that you’re not knocked out with the pain of that wound. Might as well save you time walking down the hallway to shut me up.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. Was he deliberately trying to torture you?

“Sensible yet somehow mischievous,” you muttered. “Fine. I’ll get ready for bed and meet you in your room.”

He looked utterly relieved, and you felt bad for chastising him for a moment. 

“You’re a godsend, darling,” he said before passing you to walk down the hall to his bedroom. He left the door open.

You walked into your room and looked through the clothes Chas had brought you. You wondered if his wife had helped him because the underwear he’d bought was exactly what you would have picked. It was colorful and lacy, nice and comfortable. You slipped on a new pair of panties and picked out a nighty. It was silky and soft and fell just to above your knee.

You walked down the hall to Constantine’s room, and knocked on the open door. He was standing by his closet in his boxers, and turned to see you. A genuine smile fell across his face, and his eyes traveled over your body, taking their time.

You could tell he was fighting himself by the way he tore his eyes away from you. He walked over to the bed and got in, leaving the sheets open for you as well. 

You got into bed and faced him this time, the two of you a mere foot apart. It seemed to get somewhat warmer in the room, more comfortable, as if the house wanted you to be there.

“So what do I do if you start screaming?” you asked, doing your best not to let your gaze wander from his eyes. 

“You can hit me as hard as you can,” he smirked. “Anything to wake me up fast.”

You nodded, hoping it didn’t come to that. You bit your lip, thinking for a moment.

“What is it, luv?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” you smiled. 

“I’m the conman here, not you,” he reminded you. You sighed. 

“Nothing, I promise,” you said. 

You were unable to express what you were thinking. Unable to express that the sight of him before you felt right. The sight of him next to you in bed felt natural, like you’d done this for ages. 

“Sweet dreams,” you said, unable to stop yourself from kissing his forehead before turning around in his arms. 

He shuffled closer to you, wrapping his arm confidently around you. This time, in your pjs, you could feel more of him. With just the thin silk between you, you felt the way his chest melded to your back, felt the way his arm wrapped protectively around you, hand resting on your scars. You easily fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

You woke in the morning, and realized that his plan had worked. He hadn’t woken up with any kind of nightmare. You’d shifted during the night, and had ended up half on his chest, using him as a pillow. Your arm was draped around his side, and his hand was tangled in your hair, almost like he’d been playing with it at some point during the night and fallen asleep mid stroke.

You gently rose, sitting beside him and nearly giving yourself a heart attack when you saw that he was already very much awake.

“Jesus,” you laughed. “I thought you were still sleeping.”

“I’ve been up for a while,” he smirked. 

“Why didn’t you wake me?” you asked. You ran your fingers through your hair, hoping your bedhead wasn’t atrocious. 

“You seemed quite comfortable,” he smiled smugly. 

You rolled your eyes. 

“I’ve had better pillows,” you sassed. 

He laughed as he sat up, and you marveled at how well rested he looked. The fact that he was laughing alone was unique enough. 

“Good sleep then?” you asked seriously. 

He pressed his lips together, dipping his head down and looking up at you. 

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Thanks to my dream catcher.”

“Eh, probably placebo effect,” you shrugged. “But I will steal the credit if it gets me coffee.”

“It will,” he nodded, gesturing for the two of you to head to the kitchen.

His hair was messy. He’d put on a white undershirt and remained in his boxers. The shirt clung to him, reminding you of all the ways your body fit against him so well. Couldn’t you just turn it off? Surely you’d had crushes before that you’d ignored. Perhaps it was just because you were living in the same space and now sleeping next to each other, that you couldn’t put it away. Yet, it felt like something more, something you couldn’t explain. It felt like that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when someone’s lurking around the corner. It was a gut feeling, something like a survival instinct, to stay close to him, to be close to him.

You found yourself staring again, and once he’d put the coffee on, he turned around and caught you. An arrogant smile crossed his features and his tilted his head to one side. 

“Staring are we?” he asked. 

You recovered quickly, barely managing to hide your blush. How didn’t he react this way when you caught him staring?

“Just thinking we should fatten you up so I have a softer pillow,” you teased. 

“Plan on laying on my chest more often, eh?” he shot back.

“If you’re lucky,” you winked. 

What the fuck had gotten into you? For one, you were never one to flirt this openly, and for a second, you were trying to squash these feelings, not embrace them. You reminded yourself that flirting was just like breathing to him. It didn’t mean anything, just passed the time and kept things light. 

He bit his lip and gave you a look that made you grab onto the counter to ensure you stayed upright before he turned to get two mugs out of the sink. He washed them and poured the hot coffee into them. 

“Drink up,” he said, handing you a mug. “It’s going to be a long day.”

The two of you spent most of the day, with smoke and snack breaks now and then, researching the demon that had tried to kill you. You were looking for the symbol that you’d seen on top of the box.

It’d been hours, and your back was starting to cramp up from hunching over books the whole day. You tried not to touch the books much, as some of the bindings and pages were of questionable materials. It wasn’t even like you could read most of the texts, as they weren’t in any language you could understand. You were just browsing through some horrible images, hoping to come across something that vaguely resembled what you remembered.

Finally, as it drew close to dinner time, you closed the last book you’d taken and leaned back on the chair. 

“Fuck,” you muttered. “Do you do this every day?”

His tired eyes looked up at you from behind the book he was holding. He put his down from their place on the table, and let the front chair legs touch the floor. 

“Usually I have more information to go on,” he teased. 

You shrugged and got up, stretching. Although the shirt and shorts Chas had gotten for you were comfortable, they didn’t help your aching muscles.

You stretched, lolling your head to the side and moving your arms around to loosen up. You could feel his gaze on you as you did this, and turned to catch him staring. Unlike when he caught you, he didn’t flinch. Instead he seemed to enjoy it. 

“Can I help you?” you asked. 

“I’m sure you could, luv,” smirked. 

“I don’t understand how you’re able to not move for so long,” you noted. “I need to like, I don’t know, just move,” you said, starting to just jump in place for something for your muscles to do.

You moved around a little and saw the record player across the room. You padded over to it, dropping the needle without looking at the label, just out of curiosity as to what would play.

 

_ Stars shining bright above you _

_ Night breezes seem to whisper, I love you _

_ Birds singin' in the sycamore trees _

_ Dream a little dream of me _

 

Your hips had started to sway to the dreamy music, but you turned to Constantine who looked mildly embarrassed. 

“I expected something much different,” you admitted. 

“Normally you’d get that too,” he smiled, getting up and walking over to you. “Chas put that on one of the last times he was over here. Said it helps relax him.”

“He does have good taste,” you smiled, your body swaying to the music easily.

“Does he now?” Constantine asked. 

You did your best to close your eyes and just move your body to the sweet song, lifting your arms above your head and turning, stretching. When you made a half circle and started to put them down, you felt Constantine’s hands run along your arms. He let his arms come around and hug you, gently pulling you to him from behind. He held you there, pressing his body firmly against you and resting his chin on your shoulder. You could feel his stubble against your cheek, and kept your eyes closed. 

You both swayed to the music. You breathed him in, allowing yourself the luxury of relaxing. Your hand went up to his head, and you gently ran your fingers through his hair and down the line of his jaw. He hugged you tighter in response and nuzzled against you softly. 

 

_ Say nighty-night and kiss me _

_ Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me _

_ While I'm alone and blue as can be _

_ Dream a little dream of me _

 

You turned in his arms, letting your hands rest on his chest while his found purchase low on your hips. There seemed to be almost no space between you. You looked up at him and saw the look in his eyes. It wasn’t like you’d seen before. It wasn’t just that you were the only one in the world, it was that he was there with you. Just the two of you. 

And then the record stopped, and it was silent. 

You could do it, you thought. You could lean in, rise up slightly on your toes, press your lips against his. You could open that door. Surely he would go for it. Tonight, anyway. And then you would disappoint him, or he would get bored. Surely he was meant for someone in his field? Someone who knew more about magic than their one experience with a demon?

And so you stepped away, letting your hands graze his chest on their way off his body. He looked disappointed, but lit a cigarette and blew the smoke at the ceiling. 

“Who would have thought Mr. Super Punk had a soft spot for Miss Fitzgerald?” you teased, feeling the need to change the air. It was too tempting with that look on his face. You needed to see a snarky smile. And you got one. 

“You tell anyone, and I’ll kill ya,” he said. 

“Oo-oo,” you sang. “Constantine’s not all hard core!” you pranced around gleefully. The look on his face was too hard to resist continuing teasing.

“I’ll have you know I was in a very punk, very not jazzy band,” he warned, putting his cigarette in an ashtray beside you.

“Chas didn’t put that song on, did he?” you grinned. “It was you. Admit it!”

His features twisted into a mad grin and he lunged for you. You shrieked and laughed, running into the kitchen to avoid your fate. He caught you and wrapped his arms around you from behind, lifting your flailing feet off the floor. You were giggling as he put you back down. You rested your hands on the kitchen counter and he stayed behind you. 

“Take it back,” he warned teasingly. 

“No,” you squirmed, trying to run away. 

He had you basically pinned. All you could do was twist quickly to face him and jump up onto the counter to be a little taller than him.

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere, luv,” he said. He slid your legs around his waist and picked you up, supporting you under your thighs. 

You squealed, letting your laughter pour out of you. It felt so good to be silly, so good to laugh, so good to pretend that you weren’t in severe danger. Apparently he felt so too, because you heard him chuckling as you clung to him. He spun you around two times before putting you back down on the counter. 

You managed to stop laughing and fix your hair. He was looking at you with something like amazement on his face. 

“Ah-hem,” you heard from behind you. 

Constantine’s face fell like he’d been caught doing something wrong. You couldn’t see why, though, it was just Chas. 

“Am I interrupting?” Chas asked.

You wondered how much he’d witnessed. He probably thought you’d both lost your minds. Maybe you had after staring at those books so long. You expected a witty retort from the blonde, but he merely walked over to Chas and took the large book he was holding. He looked at it for a moment, running his hand over the cover. 

“Is that a different book than the ones you brought before?” you guessed. “Something more specific? Maybe in English?” you added with a hopeful smile.

Chas nodded. 

“Was waiting for a friend to come back to borrow it from her,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll help.”

It was a massive book, with what you could only assume was tiny text inside based on what you’d seen today. Your head hurt just looking at it.

The two men shared a look you didn’t understand, and then Chas addressed you. 

“Could you take a look in John’s room for one of the books I brought? I don’t see it on the table. It’s got an ankh on it, blue leather.”

“Sure,” you nodded, taking leave to go look in his room even though you didn’t remember seeing it there this morning. 

After a quick look around, you walked quietly down the hall. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but once you heard your name on Constantine’s lips, you had to stop.

“It’s not like that with (Y/N),” he was saying.

“I’ve never seen you smile like that John,” Chas answered. “I’ve never seen you so happy. Fuck, why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

“Because I don’t  _ feel _ anything,” Constantine hissed back. “I  _ can’t _ feel anything. That’s where the trouble always starts.”

Their voices were low but intense. You were basically holding your breath.

“I know you’ve lost a lot of people, we both have,” Chas argued. “But you can’t just keep living your life like this.”

“Maybe I can,” Constantine shrugged angrily. “Maybe I should.”

“The fuck does that mean?” Chas spat. 

Their voices were hushed, but you could tell they both wanted to be screaming at each other.

“Maybe I fucking deserve to be alone. It’s probably the least I deserve after everything I’ve done.”

Chas rubbed his forehead tiredly. 

“I don’t know what to tell you, John. You’re the only one who thinks you need to repent anymore for Newcastle. You’re the one making this hell for yourself.”

“Yeah, well I’m going there anyway, might as well get a head start,” he huffed. 

“Maybe she’s your redemption,” Chas offered. “Maybe she’s the way you make things right.”

“What are you on about?”

“You can’t just keep whipping yourself and pouring salt in the wounds, John. it’s not going to bring Astra back. All it’s doing is bringing more hatred into this world. Maybe the way you redeem yourself, the way you honor Astra’s memory, is to love.”

“I’m not a bloody Disney princess,” Constantine retorted.

“Fine,” Chas threw his hands up. “Do what you want.”

You blinked and shuffled a few steps backwards. It was a lot to process, but you couldn’t do it now. You made sure your footsteps were audible as you made your way back down the hallway.

“Couldn’t find it,” you shrugged, walking in to find them looking convincingly bored.

“Must have not brought it over,” Chas shrugged. “Thanks for looking.”

“No problem,” you answered.

“Right, well, I should get going,” Chas muttered. 

“So soon?” you asked. “Why don’t you stay? Maybe we can order Thai.”

“Sorry, I was on the road all day to get that,” he lamented. “Gotta get home to the girls.”

You nodded and crossed the room to give him a hug. He was doing all this to help you, and the commitment wasn’t lost on you. 

“Thank you,” you muttered into his shoulder.

“No problem, kid,” he smiled at you. He held your shoulders for a moment and glanced over at Constantine before letting you go. 

“See ya mate,” Constantine said solemnly. Chas nodded and left the two of you alone again. 

“So… Thai or…”

You were going to mention some other food, but Constantine interrupted you.

“I know you heard us.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing's hotter than consent, kids! ALSO I am asexual so if the smut in this chapter isn't great, it's cuz for me it's like fixing a car - I've seen it done in tv and movies, but I could never do it myself.

You froze, trying to decide if you could get out of this somehow. It didn’t seem like it. Constantine’s face was grim, and he looked defeated. You let out a long breath and let your shoulders relax. 

“What gave me away?” you grimaced. 

“You hardly have a convincing poker face, luv,” Constantine tried to smile.

“Sorry,” you hid your face. “I never eavesdrop, I just… I couldn’t help it.”

“Sit down,” he said softly.

He poured himself a quick drink and then walked you over to the couch, sitting down next to you.

“I know you have questions.”

You nodded, looking at your hands. There were so many, but you decided on the most pressing.

“Who’s Astra?” you asked.

“She’s a girl that’s in Hell because of me,” he said simply. “Because of my arrogance.”

You couldn’t meet his gaze, you didn’t know what you’d find there. You waited for him to continue.

“I was so young. So stupid,” he almost laughed. “I thought I could save her, but I just made it worse. I tried to kill one demon using another without the skills to do so. And now she’s suffering forever because of me.”

“And you can’t get her out?”

You finally met his gaze and saw his eyes were rimmed with red. 

“I’ll keep trying till the day I die,” he said. 

“You didn’t send her there on purpose,” you noted. “It’s not your fault if something overpowered your spell.”

“Tell that to my bloody conscience,” he managed a mirthless smirk.

You sighed and shifted to be closer to him. You slid your hand into his and just held it. You looked at him, just looked, seeing all the sadness, all the regret. It seemed in such contrast to the man who had just twirled you around the room, the man who had held you tenderly just moments before. 

You leaned in, smelling the whiskey on his breath. He closed his eyes as your lips ghosted over his. They fluttered open as he leaned back. 

“I’m sorry, luv,” he muttered.

Your heart ached for him.

“You’re telling me you don’t feel this… thing? Between us?” You asked.

“You must know that I do,” he forced the words out of himself. “And I know why.”

You watched him carefully for an answer.

“There’s an ancient magic, something I thought was just a myth, until I met you. Until I saved you.”

“What are you talking about?” you asked. 

“There’s legends going back to the beginning of time of a strong magic. It says that when you save another’s life, you’re bound to them. Soul to soul.”

“You’ve saved tons of people,” you dismissed.

He shook his head. 

“True. And I am connected to them. But not like this. There’s no handbook to this myth. It doesn’t say that every connection is created equally. And this… this is different than I’ve  _ ever _ felt. Magic or no magic.”

You looked at him, really looked. You could see it pained him to be this honest with you, to admit this to himself. 

“So I’m not crazy?” you breathed, relieved. 

“No,” he answered. “Definitely not crazy.”

He put his drink down and leaned back on the couch, resting his head and closing his eyes. 

“Do I… really make you happy... like Chas said?” you asked tentatively. 

His eyes opened and he looked at you with guilt in his eyes. 

“What?” you asked when he didn’t answer. 

He sighed and shook his head. 

“You know when someone you know dies,” he started. “And you’re all in black, and it’s after the funeral and you’re at someone’s house eating a shitty fruit basket, and something makes you laugh. Like genuinely laugh, and you’re happy for a moment, but then you remember where you are and why you’re there. And you feel guilty. Like you shouldn’t be so happy when someone else who deserves to be there, isn't.”

You nodded, knowing the feeling well. 

“It’s like that,” he said. “You’re the… the good thing. That I don’t deserve.”

You crawled into his lap, straddling him and holding his face in your hands.

“Who says you’re the one who gets to decide what you deserve John Constantine?” you asked. 

He looked surprised at this, and stared at you.

“Nice sentiment, luv, but I think I know a bit more about the penance of souls than you do.”

“What would it take then? To deserve me?”

Constantine bit his lip and let his eyes scan your body. 

“A miracle,” he laughed.

“What about getting Astra back?” you asked. 

“If you’ve been taking note, you’ll see that I have tried that.”

“You haven’t tried it with me,” you shrugged, sitting back on his lap and releasing his face from your hands. “Maybe I can help.”

He looked doubtful.

“You said you tried to kill one demon with another before, right? What if we trapped my demon and made a deal? His freedom for Astra’s soul.”

He blinked. There was a silence then, and you could hear the gears turning.

“Did I help?” you asked, nervous you might have said something stupid.

He looked up at you as he hands moved onto your hips. 

“You’re a bloody genius, do you know that?”

“I do,” you beamed.

His hands slid up to cup your face and bring you closer to him.

If ever you’d believed in magic, it was in this moment. Your lips melded together. He pulled you towards him, one hand on your lower back, another claiming your neck, keeping you as close to him as humanly possible. His kiss was powerful, practiced, intoxicating. It was all you could do to keep up.

You felt blindly behind you as you kissed and made your way to the bedroom. While you weren’t adverse to doing it on the table, somehow doing it next to a bunch of texts with demon faces didn’t thrill you. Apparently Constantine had the same idea, because he pushed you gently into his room.

Candles lit without warning, and you smiled at him. You pulled him by his tie into a kiss, and he nearly growled into your mouth. The feel of him so close to you was overwhelming. It was like a dream, and you couldn’t get enough of him. When you’d finally managed to rid him of his clothes, he returned the favor, helping you out of your shirt and kissing down your body. He favored the scars, the thing that had brought the two of you together, and you threaded your hands through his hair. 

He pushed you onto the bed, and you thought he was going to take your panties off you, but he stopped. 

He was breathing hard, and for a moment, you let yourself admire him. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, eying you hungrily. 

“Yes,” you answered. “Of course. Why?”

Was something wrong? He laughed casually. 

“I’ve been entered by a few entities without my consent,” he shrugged. “I’d never do the same to someone else.”

While he was making a half hearted joke, you also appreciated the seriousness of the moment. You stood back up for a moment and kissed him, ridding yourself of your bra and panties at the same time. 

“Yes,” you promised. “And I’ll let you know if that answer changes.”

“Good,” he smiled. 

“And you too,” you said seriously. 

He nodded and kissed you, laying you gently down on the bed before leaving your lips to travel down your body. He wasted no time in going down on you, making you squirm and clutch the sheets in response. You moaned and it spurned him on, quickening his pace. 

Just as you were about to cum, he stopped, lifting his head and heading straight up towards you. He hovered over you, and you held your legs wide open for him. 

“Ready?” he asked. 

You nodded and felt him, strong and ready above you. He sank into you slowly, eyes nearly rolling back in his head until he was buried inside you. 

He started out slowly, but couldn’t keep the pace, and started going faster. In a small effort to surprise the man who’d probably seen it all, you flipped him, rolling him over so you were on top. The response you got was a hungry kiss and a firm grip on your hips as you rode him.

“You’re fucking beautiful, luv,” he muttered against your lips.

You felt so confident and happy in that moment, and just as you did, you came. You felt yourself jerk and close around him, sending him into his ecstasy. As you rode out the waves of your orgasms together, you felt his lips on your neck, making their way up to your lips. 

You pulled yourself off of him and laid beside him, panting. He gathered you into his arms and kissed your neck. 

It felt good to feel him behind you, feel all of him, skin against skin. You could feel his heart still pounding in his chest against your back as you lay there. You thought about all the things he’d said about himself, all the things that had prevented you from doing this earlier. They didn’t seem real now. Perhaps he was the world’s greatest conman, but at this moment, with his arm tucked around you, his face nestled into the crook of your neck, you couldn’t see this man harming you in any way.

It was hard to focus on any train of thought, though, and you were soon fast asleep, wrapped in Constantine’s arms. 

You woke to kisses on your neck, and smiled. 

“G’morning, luv,” he whispered in between kisses. 

You rolled over to see him, and the way he looked at you made your heart flutter. He seemed to worship seeing every inch of you. It was almost like he’d never looked at another woman before, though you were sure he’d looked at quite a few naked bodies in his time. 

“That was fun, last night,” you smiled. 

You weren’t sure how much significance to put into it. Was it like flirting with him? Sex was just something he did with loads of people? It didn’t feel like it to you. It didn’t feel casual or meaningless. Quite the opposite. Whatever you’d felt before was now intensified tenfold. You felt your magical bond almost tugging you together whenever you were more than a foot apart. Thankfully right now, you were nearly on top of him. 

“It was certainly fun,” he grinned wickedly. “And I hate to ruin it,” he pouted slightly. “But I do think we should get a look at that book. Seems we got a bit distracted by the fun and didn’t quite get to it last night.”

You frowned. 

“Maybe I’ll just live down here for the rest of my life,” you joked. 

After speaking, you realized your implication might be that you were going to stay specifically with him forever, and you blushed.

“Or we can go look at that book,” you quickly added. 

He smirked as if he could read your mind, and watched you get out of his bed. You gave him a wink as you stole one of his shirts off the ground. That smell of him around you was intoxicating, and you couldn’t help but need it still. He didn’t seem to complain. If anything he seemed more aroused by you in his shirt than naked. 

He slipped on a pair of boxers and a plain undershirt and tugged you along by the hand out of the bedroom. 

He pulled you into his lap on the couch after grabbing the large book off the counter. You were happy to run your hand through his hair and kiss his neck while he looked through the book. 

“You know, it’s hard to focus with you doing that, pet,” he murmured after a moment. 

“Mmm, sorry I can’t help it,” you smiled. 

And you really couldn’t. You’d never understood those couples in public that couldn’t leave each other alone until now. Something inside you had stirred, and leaving him alone for any length of time now seemed unthinkable.

You saw his smile, but restrained yourself to just playing with his hair, leaving the rest of him alone. He focused on the book. You checked out a few pages, but it wasn’t anything you understood. It looked like old runes instead of words, like you might see on an old crypt lost underground for centuries.

You both gasped at the same time when you saw it, though. The very symbol you’d been describing for the past few days was now staring up at you through weathered pages. 

“That’s it,” you muttered. Your hand traced the dragon’s face and you shivered.

“It is a demon alright,” Constantine said, almost to himself. “But a very very old one. Who the fuck had this ancient beast locked up in an apartment attic and forgot about it?”

You blushed. 

“To be fair, the attic was locked.”

He looked at you with an arched eyebrow. 

“I may have been curious… and picked it. Plus I needed the extra storage space.”

“I have never been more attracted to you than right now,” he smirked.    
You couldn’t help but lean down and kiss him. 

“Still, this thing should have been protected in a place like this. Not an apartment. Whoever had this didn’t know what it was. Lucky they didn’t open it I guess.”   
“Huh,” you muttered. 

“What?”

“Just funny. If they had, I never would have met you. Kinda fate I guess.”

“Call it whatever you’d like, luv. I’m just happy it happened. Well, not the you almost dying bit, obviously,” he frowned. 

You chuckled and kissed his cheek.

“So how do we trap it or whatever?”

“I’m working on a plan based on what you mentioned to help Astra. I think we’re going to need some help with all this ancient stuff though.”

“I’m guessing you know a guy?” you teased. 

“I do,” he smirked. 

“Well then, let’s trap a demon and save a girl.”


	9. Chapter 9

After calling Chas and informing him of the type of demon you were dealing with, Chas had the same idea Constantine had. They were going to call on an old friend. Chas came over in the afternoon with good news. 

“His name’s Harvey,” Chas informed you. “An old friend from John’s days across the pond. He’s in the states working for a university now, said he’d be glad to help, but wants us to pick up some supplies while he’s on his way over.”

You saw Constantine slipping on his trench coat and loading up his bag. 

“Babysitting time again?” you guessed. 

“I’ll be back soon, luv,” he promised, crossing the room to wrap an arm around your waist and pull you to him. You blushed, unused to displays of affection, especially in front of Chas. “You won’t even miss me.”

You pulled your attention from Chas’ face to look up at Constantine. He looked worried, and you weren’t sure why. He kissed you deeply, though too quickly for your liking, and pulled away. 

“I’ll be back before midnight,” he said, and ascended the stairs.

You let out a long breath before looking at Chas.

“What?” you asked. “I mean I know  _ what _ , but what are you thinking?”

Chas smiled genuinely and laughed. 

“Nothing,” he promised. “Just happy, that’s all.”

You hid your face in your hands and shook your head. 

“I can only imagine what you think of me,” you laughed. “Coming in here being a damsel in distress and falling for him.”

“I’ll tell you what I think of you,” Chas offered. “I think you’re incredibly brave, strong, and unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

You faltered, unsure how to take this compliment. You got the feeling Chas didn’t say things like this lightly or often.

“Thank you,” you managed. 

“I know he must have mentioned he’s been with a fair share of people,” Chas said. You nodded reluctantly. “So I have to tell you that I’ve never seen him like that with anyone else.”

Your heart soared. 

“Really?” you asked. 

“The energy around you two… It’s different,” Chas said, as if trying to talk it out himself and unriddle it. 

“He says it’s the bond between us, when he saved me,” you shrugged, unsure if he would know what you were talking about. He nodded knowingly.

“That would do it,” he admitted. “Should have figured for that.”

“You know about it too?” you asked. 

“I’ve lived it,” he smiled. 

“Your wife?”

He nodded and smiled warmly. 

“Saved her from a mugger possessed by a spirit.”

“What a meet cute,” you laughed. 

“It’s fast and strong,” he said. “Can be a bit overwhelming at first.”

“You can say that again,” you smiled.

“It doesn’t slow down,” he warned. “But you get used to the intensity.”

“So you think… you think we’ll last?” you asked, biting your lip.

“I think if John has any sense, he won’t fuck this up. And with that kind of magic on your side… yeah I think it’ll last,” he said.

You wanted to jump up and down. To hear someone else validate the intensity of the feelings you were having was overwhelming.

“Good,” was all you could manage. Then you thought about what he’d said. “What do you mean if he doesn’t fuck it up?”

Chas sighed and looked a little sad. 

“Even if we do help Astra out, John has plenty more regrets, things he thinks he needs to atone for.”

“Does he?” you asked tentatively. “Need to atone for them?”

You realized you knew nearly nothing of his past.

“Yes and no,” Chas said. “Really I guess it’s up to him. He always does his best, but sometimes it’s not enough in this world. But you can only beat yourself up so much before you’re no use to anyone.”

You nodded. You made a mental note to see for yourself just what he held in his past.

The two of you passed the time together quickly after that, as you asked him more questions about his family. He was open with you, happy to show you pictures of his little girl and tell you all about her. 

As promised, Constantine made it back before midnight, sweeping you into his arms and hugging you as if you hadn’t seen each other in days instead of hours. 

“Any word on when Harvey’s coming?” Constantine asked. 

“Could be any time during the wee hours of the morning,” Chas shrugged. “Just said he was on his way.”

“Might want to try to get some sleep before then, eh?” he looked at you alone. 

“I’m not sleeping if you’re not sleeping,” you shook your head.

“We could all do with a nap, I think,” Chas offered. “I’ll sleep on the couch and keep an ear out for him.”

“Cheers,” Constantine said. “Holler if you need anything.”

Chas nodded and you and Constantine walked into his bedroom. You laid down with your head on his chest while he played with your hair. 

“I don’t think I can sleep,” you said softly. 

“Just close your eyes,” he offered. “Just rest. You’ll need your strength.”

You did as you were told and closed your eyes. The evenness of his breathing and the sensation of his hand in your hair was soothing enough for you to fall in between waking and sleeping. In a kind of meditative rest, you weren’t sure how much time had gone by before you heard Chas talking to someone outside the room.

You and Constantine both sat up and shared a look. It was time. 

“I meant to grab a few things from the back room, luv. Go ahead, I’ll meet you in there.”

You nodded and got dressed, slipping out of the room and seeing a handsome man in the kitchen, pouring himself some coffee. He was tall, taller than Chas or Constantine, with dark hair carefully coiffed. He had a strong jawline that was helmed by dark stubble. He wore glasses, a dress shirt, and a vest. All in all, he looked like a professor, albeit a young one.

“Why John, you’ve grown into a beautiful young woman,” Harvey joked.

You laughed and shook your head, extending your hand to him.

“Unfortunately I’m (Y/N),” you said. “The reason you were hauled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.”

You heard Constantine’s footsteps behind you. 

“If I had known I was going to be rescuing such a beautiful woman I would have ran more red lights,” he replied.

While you might have usually found such forwardness annoying, he was strangely charming, and you couldn’t help but smile and feel flattered. As it were, you didn’t get to react in any way, because Constantine’s chest pressed against your back, his arms winding possessively around your waist, hugging you from behind. 

You saw Harvey’s smile drop slightly at this, and you couldn’t help but smirk. There was no reason to have done this blatant marking of you, you were in no danger of succumbing to this man’s charms. Still, you couldn’t help but love it. 

You turned around in his arms to see the glare he was giving Harvey. You thought they were friends. Cupping his face in your hands, you pulled his attention back to you. 

“You okay?” you asked teasingly. 

“Just fine, luv,” he said confidently, and kissed you. 

You couldn’t help but press your body against his in response, but managed to pull yourself away with some dignity. 

“John, it’s good to see you again,” Harvey said, somewhat strained. 

“And you,” Constantine replied, even less convincingly.    
You were wondering if “old friend” was just a term they used for people they’d probably screwed over in the past but had useful talents.

“So, trapping an ancient demon and conning it? Is it Christmas already?” Harvey asked. 

“If you’re up for it,” Constantine said, still holding you tightly to him.

“I’m always up for fucking over a demon,” he said, almost seriously. 

You wondered what his past was like too, why he’d come here for a women he didn't know with people he didn’t seem to like too much. Maybe it was personal for him. 

“Alright,” Constantine said. “Let’s get to work.”

As much as he could while the mages went to work setting up the trap for the demon, Constantine was in physical contact with you. When his hand wasn’t on the small of your back, or his fingers not interlaced with yours, he was casting glances your way, as if to make sure you hadn’t run off somewhere. You could sense his anxiety even though he wore his usual confident smirk and worked a lazy cigarette. You could feel it in your bones somehow, and it worried you. 

Harvey seemed confident enough for the both of them, laying out exactly how it would go. You’d trap the demon in a magical circle of their own concoction, offer its freedom in exchange for freeing Astra’s soul. If he refused, he’d be trapped forever in the container Harvey had brought. If he cooperated, he’d be sent back home to hell. It wasn’t freedom in Hell, Constantine explained, but it certainly wasn’t being trapped in a box, and if he really wanted to escape Hell again, he possibly could. That part troubled you, as you didn’t want anyone else to experience what you had, or worse, but the slight possibility of escape seemed a fair trade off for the girl’s soul rather than getting nothing. Constantine had said he’d keep an ear out for his potential escape, should the demon choose to return to Hell.

When the circle was set, Constantine looked at you with incredible guilt. You found Chas and Harvey’s eyes also wouldn’t meet yours. 

“What is it?” you asked, feeling your gut twist. 

Constantine walked around the circle to your side and stood quite close to you, taking your hands in his and kissing them. 

“I didn’t want to worry you about this part, luv. But we’re going to need your help.”   
“Why do you look so guilty?” you asked, feeling your hands start to shake. 

“You know when you go fishing for a certain kind of fish, and you have to use bait that it likes? That it already has a taste for?”

He was wincing as he spoke to you. 

“You want to use me as bait,” you nodded. You took a breath and steeled your nerves. “What do I have to do?” you asked with determination. 

Constantine broke into a proud smile, and you saw the two men behind him share a look of what you thought might be surprise. Perhaps they thought you wouldn’t be up for it. You were only annoyed they hadn’t told you yet.

“I promise I’m not pulling anything,” he smirked as he reached into the bag he’d gotten from the back room while Harvey was arriving. He pulled out a very short, lacy, white dress. “You’ll need to wear this,” he said. “And we’ll need some of your blood.”

“How much?”

“Just a few drops,” he promised. He waved the dress in front of you. “Wish this were under different circumstances. Reckon I’d be able to rip this off ya in three seconds.”

He winked, but his heart wasn’t in it. You appreciated the effort and took the dress from him, kissing him quickly before disrobing. 

You were about to bleed and possibly be possessed by a demon in front of the others, you figured they could handle a little side boob. Constantine didn’t seem thrilled with your decision, however, and glared daggers at the other men until they turned away. 

“Can I ask why I have to look like a an 80’s horror movie pin up?” you asked. 

“Demon’s always like white. They’re big on symbolism, white being the purity type symbol. It’ll help draw him in.”

You nodded and Constantine led you to the side of the circle. You were about to put your foot over the side, but he stopped you.

“Wait,” he said, pulling you back by the hand. 

“What?” you asked. 

He was looking at you with big, sad, eyes. You thought for a moment you were about to die in this ritual with the way he was looking at you. 

“Am I… going to be alright?” you whispered. 

He nodded. 

“Yes,” he promised. “Yes, you are, luv. Don’t you worry that pretty little head about that.”

You pressed your lips together and tried to believe him. His hand cupped the back of your neck and pulled you into a deep kiss, one that almost made you forget what you were doing.

When you pulled away you could see that look in his eyes again. The two of you against the rest of the world. With him at your side, you trusted him completely. They would keep you safe. 

“One more thing,” he said. 

He took a paste from one of the jars on the table and drew a symbol on your arm.

“To help guard against possession,” he said. “Now, take this and step into the circle.”

He handed you a sharp knife, and for a moment, your mind flashed back to your training sessions. He had been almost coy back then, you blushed. 

“You’ll need to draw blood from anywhere, just not your palm, that’ll hurt like hell.”

You laughed, thinking of all the TV shows that had done that and nodded. 

“Then we’ll begin the ceremony. When I say run, run and jump out of the circle, you got that?” he asked. You nodded. “Be absolutely certain not to disturb anything around the edges of the circle.”

“Got it,” you nodded. 

It wasn’t like you had to jump a fence, really just jump over a few mason jars. You could do this. You took a breath and reflected briefly on how you’d gotten here. Only a month ago you’d been in a completely different state with a different man. You had been a different person, you’d had no idea that this world existed. That  _ he _ existed. Now you looked at him from the middle of a demon trap. While he might look concerned for you, he also looked completely in his element. His shoulders were back, legs stood wide and strong, confident. You cast a glance back at Chas who gave you a small smile of encouragement, and Harvey who nodded for you to begin.

On an inhale, you cut just enough to bleed on your finger tip. You’d gotten pricks enough for blood tests that it didn’t feel foreign. Still, the blade was sharp enough to not hurt at all, it seemed. Blood dropped onto the floor, onto the symbols the men had drawn. You waited patiently, your heart hammering in your chest. This could be it, you thought. You could be possessed, killed even. But then you looked at Constantine, muttering words in a dead language. You looked at how sure he was, how powerful. And you knew you’d be fine. 

You could feel an energy around you now, like static electricity but heavier. The air started to smell foul, and your hair started whipping around your face. The short dress ruffled. 

Their chanting increased in volume and the smell started getting worse, the air heavier. You almost didn’t hear Constantine amidst the other chanters when he yelled. 

“Now! Run!”

But you did hear him, and did just as he asked. As you ran and jumped clear over the contents that made up the circle, you felt an energy push past you. Landing on your feet on the other side of the circle, you looked up, and saw him.

You weren’t sure what you’d expected, something with horns maybe. But instead you saw a man. He was wearing a tailored suit. He had red hair that fell in waves to his shoulders. He stood a bit taller than Constantine, and held his hands clasped in front of him. Perhaps it was some kind of magic that allowed them to present themselves as they wanted to be seen. 

The demon sighed, and Constantine glared at him. 

“And here I thought I was getting a lovely snack,” the demon said, eyes drifting to you. He looked at the symbols Constantine had drawn you and laughed hollowly. “Cute attempt, but I’m much too old for those new age drawings. Pity you couldn’t have stayed just a few seconds longer in here.”

You rounded the circle to stand mostly behind Constantine. Up closer to the thing now, you could see its eyes glowing red. Constantine seemed to make his stance wider, giving you more to stand behind and peek around from. 

“Pity indeed. A tasty snack it would have been,” the demon said, licking its lips.

“Fuck off, mate,” Constantine snapped. “Not your snack to taste.”

“But it’s yours?” he asked. 

“It’s a  _ she _ ,” you spat. “And I’m no one’s snack, thank you very much.”

The demon looked impressed, though you weren’t sure if he should be considering you were very much still hiding behind the man in the trench coat.

“Alas, I am sorry to see you go,” he said. “I very much would have liked to be inside you.”

Your stomach twisted unpleasantly and you thought you might throw up. You heard Constantine almost growl, and could only imagine the rage upon his face. 

“We have a proposition for you,” Harvey said, rounding the circle to be closer to you and Constantine. 

The demon raised his eyebrow and looked at him as if Harvey were an amusing cat. 

“A proposition?” he asked. “And what would The Great John Constantine and Co. have to offer me?”

“It’s more like what you can offer us, mate, seeing as you’re the one trapped here.”

The demon looked at his surroundings for the first time and his confident smile dropped. He seemed pissed, its eyes glowing like embers.

“And what can I do for you? A deal?”

“Of sorts,” Constantine said. “A soul released from Hell in exchange for your freedom.”

“My freedom…”

“Your ride back to Hell,” Harvey filled in.

“Not ideal,” the demon frowned.    
“Summon Astra, the child of earth not meant for Hell, and we will send you back home.”

“Otherwise, stay forever trapped in this jar,” Chas smiled almost gleefully. “I’m personally hoping you chose the jar. It’ll look good next to my garbage can.”

The demon looked disgusted. 

“Summoning a soul from Hell is not easy,” he warned. 

“Why do you think we’re asking  _ you _ to do it?” Constantine smirked.

“Once she’s out of there, she should find her way to heaven from here,” Harvey said. “As she should have the first time around.”

Your heart broke for the little girl and all the suffering she was enduring.

“I must admit, Constantine,” the demon said. “Word on the street, as it were, was not wrong about you. You cast a good, if unconventional, spell,” he said, admiring the work on the floor. “I suppose I must do as you say then.”

You were surprised at how well this was going, and how different he was than what you’d expected. The vulgarity and talk of possession was on par, but for something that blew a hole the size of a man through your wall, he was surprisingly eloquent.

The demon closed its eyes and lifted its hands as if meditating. Winds from nowhere blew around you, and it got significantly hotter. You slipped under Constantine’s arm to wrap your arms around his waist and nuzzle yourself closer to him. He wrapped his arms around you, nearly covering you with his coat.

You hid your face in his chest as the winds got more violent and the demon started speaking in a terrifying voice. It went on for only a few more moments before everything was eerily still. When you peaked out from Constantine’s chest, you saw that there was a bright bluish light floating above the demon. It wasn’t shaped as anything, really. Just sort of pure energy, pulsing. You looked at Constantine and saw that he was crying. 

“It’s her,” he whispered. “I can feel it.”

“Me too,” Chas said softly. 

Even you could feel the energy coming from this soul was the girl of earth who had no business in Hell. The energy lingered there for only a moment before dissipating upwards and into the heavens. 

When you’d all reclaimed yourselves, you looked back at the demon who was waiting impatiently. 

“A deal’s a deal,” he reminded you. 

“One ticket straight to Hell,” Constantine forced himself to say. 

The demon smiled wickedly. 

“Don’t think I’ll forget you, Englishman,” the demon crooned. “Or your delicious girlfriend.”

His eyes drifted to you and the merciless, daunting gaze that he gave you made you want to run far away.

“I should think not,” Constantine said confidently. “We’re quite a couple. Now, back to Hell, and bloody stay there for a while, eh? I don’t think you’ll like what I do to you next time you take a road trip up north.”

He started the chant, and the rest of the men chimed in, creating the now familiar feeling of air against your skin. It didn’t take as long to send the demon back to Hell, and after he’d disappeared, you felt a lot better. 

It was over, for now. The demon’s taunts still haunted you, but from what the guys had said, it would take him a while to crawl back out of Hell. You were counting on that.

The moment he could, Constantine gathered you into his arms and kissed you deeply. You could feel the relief in his kiss. The look in his eyes, while not entirely devoid of darkness, was lessened. You could only imagine what it must mean to him to have Astra freed. 

Harvey broke Constantine’s concentration on you with a pat on the back. 

“Not too bad for a couple of old stooges,” he said. 

“Harvey,” Constantine said sincerely. “Thank you.”

Harvey looked surprised. 

“Sincerity from The Great--”

“Yeah yeah,” Constantine laughed, lighting a cigarette. “Don’t get used to it.”

“That’s more like it,” Harvey smirked. 

You went to hug Chas as they exchanged a few more good-natured jabs at each other. Maybe this had been good for them after all. Maybe this was what they needed. It seemed this situation had healed a few old wounds in everyone.

“We did it,” you smiled at Chas. 

He nodded, though not as happily as you would have liked. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. 

“Nothing, kid,” he said, ruffling your hair playfully. 

You could tell something wasn’t sitting well with him, but couldn’t push it as Constantine had announced that a round of drinks were coming out now. You followed him to the kitchen where you quickly cleaned up the small wound on your finger. After applying a small bandage, you joined the boys at the table, opting to sit on Constantine’s lap rather than your own chair. He wrapped his arm possessively around your waist, and used the other to raise his glass. 

“To fucking over demons, and saving beautiful girls,” he said. 

“To Astra,” you added. 

The gleam of appreciation in his gaze was not missed by you.

“To Astra,” he said softly. Everyone took a sip.

“How long’s your drive back?” you asked Harvey. He’d been here a few hours already, it was getting dark outside. 

“Four hours?” he guessed. 

“You wanna crash here?” Constantine asked. 

“Nah, I’d rather just chug a Red Bull and be on my way,” he said. “Nothing like crashing in your own bed.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Constantine said. 

“You’ll drink to anything,” you teased, running your hand through his hair.    
“I’ll drink to that too,” he smirked. 

You finished your drinks as a calm settled over the group.

“I should get going,” Harvey said.

“I’m heading out too, I’ll walk you out,” Chas offered. 

You managed to get off Constantine’s lap for one last hug from each man who had helped save you. You watched them make their way up the stairs and realized you could go out there too now. No need for the protections of the house. You could see sunlight again.

“Can we go up too?” you asked. “I want to go outside before the sun sets.”

You were standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up, but when you didn’t hear a response, you looked back at him. He was sitting slouched over with his elbows on his knees, swooshing the bourbon around in his glass. 

“Can we?” you tried again. 

“I think you should go, luv,” he said. 

“Yeah, I want to,” you laughed. “But you have to go with me.”

“No,” he said, standing. 

His demeanor had completely changed. He was ecstatic the moment before, what had changed?

“I mean, I think you should go. Go and never look back.”

You furrowed your brow, confused. 

“What?”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“Now’s your chance. And you should take it. I told you. Everyone who gets close to me dies. Everyone. I will not let you be another on my list.” He looked at you, letting his gaze drift down your body, and let out a breath. 

“If you were taking note, you’ll see that I did not die just now. I am very much still alive.”

“This time,” Constantine agreed. “But next time? I could pull something even more stupid and get you killed. I allowed myself this brief indulgence, but I can’t let it put you in danger now.”

You bit your lip and took a breath. You understood where he was coming from, but then you started to feel the anger rising in you. 

“I could just as easily die in the normal world,” you said fiercely. “I could die in a car crash or get jumped on the street. Life’s a risk. And yeah, you have different dangers around you, but from where I’m standing, the safest place in the world for me is at your side.”

He looked at you, surprised. Apparently he’d expected you to go quietly. 

“Better you die in a car crash and go to heaven than get banished to Hell,” he countered. 

“And what about when that demon comes back for me?” you asked. 

You hadn’t truly thought about it yet, what that might mean. The thought scared you beyond everything else. His eyes took on more sadness than you’d ever wanted to instill there. 

“I’ll keep an eye out for it,” he said evenly. 

“Nope,” you said, placing your feet strongly on the floor. 

“Nope?” he asked. 

“You heard me, John Constantine. Not this time.”

“Not this time what?”

“You can’t push me away like that. We have something real here. You can’t give that up,  _ I _ can’t give that up. Not because you’re scared.”

“Pfft, I’m not scared, luv,” he said, taking a step back. “I’m just being chivalrous.”

“You’re fucking terrified,” you laughed. 

“Look, maybe I allowed myself to have some fun with you while you were here, but it didn’t mean anything, pet,” he said, once again carefully carelessly.

The words stung. You couldn’t help but wrap your arms around yourself, hugging yourself, keeping it together. His face seemed to drop its careless facade for a moment. He didn’t meet your gaze as he spoke.

“Go see that sunshine,” he said. “Get out of this darkness.”

You closed your eyes and took a breath. You wouldn’t give up, but neither could you be around him right now. You tried to make your way up the stairs, if only to go outside and get some air, but you literally couldn’t. It was as if a forcefield were keeping you from reaching the first step. 

It took Constantine a moment to realize you hadn’t started your ascent yet. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, taking a few steps towards you. 

You struggled, slamming your shoe against the barrier and stumbling backwards. 

“I don’t know. You’re the magic boy, you tell me,” you muttered. 

He threw you a look, but came over to investigate anyway. He felt around the stairs. He could stick his hand through, even go on the first step. He gave you a look like you might just have forgotten how stairs work. When he extended his hand to you from the second step, you took it. Surprisingly, you were able to enter the stairs. 

Once you were on the first step, Constantine let go of your hand and skipped back onto the floor. Immediately, as if thrown by an invisible person, you were tossed off the stairs, landing, and falling into Constantine.

“The fuck?” you yelled at the stairs. 

Constantine sighed and looked around his house. 

“Always thinks she knows what’s best,” he muttered. 

“What?”

“The house. I told you when you first got here. She protects me. Even when I don’t deserve it.”

He rubbed his face with his hands and laughed. 

“I’m not sure I understand,” you said. 

“She won’t let you leave me.”

“Why? I’m clearly not welcome here anymore am I,” you answered crossly. 

He gave you a look of guilt mixed with sadness, and you melted. 

“Am I?” you asked.

“‘Course you bloody are,” he said, collapsing onto the chair beside him. “Gods, of course you are. I’d do anything for you not to go.”

You’d never seen him like this, and it worried you. 

“You’re the one who wanted to kick me out,” you said, kneeling next to him. 

“I never wanted you to leave,” he said. “And because I’m a selfish bastard that’ll probably get you killed some day. And I don’t deserve to be--”

“Happy?” you guessed. 

He tilted his head back and sighed. 

“You don’t know the things I’ve done, luv. I don’t deserve this.”

“Maybe not,” you admitted. “But I don’t care. If you’ll take a count here, you’ll notice that there’s two people in this situation. Not just you.”

You were surprised to see a small smile on his face. 

“And I know exactly what I deserve,” you said, standing and straddling him on the chair. 

He looked up at you with wonder in his eyes. 

“You deserve an old selfish bastard with a drinking problem?” he guessed. 

You stifled a laugh. 

“I deserve a handsome, talented mage with a good heart, who’s not terrible in bed.”   
“Aye,” he nudged you. You laughed, and a genuine smile appeared on his face. “I think the sun’s setting,” he whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Let’s go watch it then,” you said. 

You took his hand and led him easily up the stairs and out of the house. Together you stood by the edge of the woods and watched the sun go down. You assumed his house must be some ways away from the city, because as soon as it got dark you could easily see the stars. Your neck started hurting from you excessive staring upwards, and you heard Constantine spreading out his jacket on the grass. Looking down, you saw him laying back, weight on his elbows, cigarette in his mouth. He patted the space next to him on his jacket.

You gratefully obliged, laying down, taking his hand in yours. 

“What do we do now?” you asked. 

With his free hand he took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew smoke up at the stars. 

“Suppose we could start by convincing the authorities of you lovely town that you’re neither an arsonist nor missing,” he pointed out. 

“That would be a good start,” you laughed. “And I suppose you have a plan for that?”

“You’d be surprised what I can talk government officials into,” he winked. You chuckled. 

“And then what?” you asked, your heart completely open to him. “I had wanted a fresh start… This is about as fresh as it gets.”

“We can do whatever you like, luv,” he said, taking his attention away from the stars to look at you. He seemed to be waiting for something, but you weren’t sure what.

“I don’t want you to feel like just ‘cause we’re seeing each other that you have to house me,” you laughed. “Once I get my bank cards back I can find a place if you--”

“Stay as long as you like, pet,” he promised. “I’ve sort of gotten used to you hanging around anyway.”

You wondered if he was worried you would want to leave, and what that might mean for him and his nightmares. 

“Alright,” you smiled. “I’ll stay. But we have to go grocery shopping.”

He smirked and nodded. 

“Deal.”

You smiled and looked back up at the stars. 

“And,” he said quietly. “We could go on a proper date? Maybe?”

For the first time, you heard uncertainty in his voice. Stunned, you turned back to look at him. 

“What?” he asked when you didn’t answer. 

“You’re nervous,” you realized. 

“Pfft, fuck off,” he laughed, drawing in a ton of smoke and exhaling.

“You were!” you nudged him. He rolled his eyes, but then looked at you, waiting. “Of course I would love to go on a ‘proper date’ with you,” you mimicked his accent. “But what would that look like to a man like John Constantine?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note, the old friend is random cuz i didn't have anyone from canon i wanted to put in here


	10. Chapter 10

“A proper date?” he asked, looking up at the sky and blowing smoke at it. 

You marveled at this man who so blatantly challenged the heavens. You watched his straight jaw line in the soft moonlight, saw the way his shirt was unbuttoned just enough to tempt you.

“I’d say you’ll just have to wait and see,” he smiled smugly. “Tomorrow night?”

“Okay, but I need to go shopping if I’m gonna be staying here,” you realized. “Chas only got me like five days worth of clothes. Guess we gotta figure out the arson shit first and get my shit back to me.”

“No worries, luv,” he said, sitting up and pulling out his wallet. He whipped out a black card. “This is another benefit of being me,” he smiled smugly. “Automatically, and magically, draws money from America’s richest son of a bitch,” he smirked. 

“Ah,” you marveled. “And how much whiskey have you bought on that?”

He smiles playfully. 

“We’ll take her for a spin tomorrow, eh?”

“Sounds good to me,” you smile. 

You’d never been a shopaholic of any kind really, but it was nice not to have to worry about money for a second. Maybe you could get something nice to really wow him on this date. You had to admit you were a little nervous about it. Until now you’d basically been in survival mode together. How would you do in the real world? What even was the real world to you anymore?

Thinking about your old life, you realized something you probably should address. 

“Hey,” you said shyly, sitting cross-legged in front of him. “I um, I don’t want to make this like more intense than it has to be, but, um…. Just with what happened to me before, with my ex, could you just like, give me a heads up if you’re gonna sleep with someone else?”

You couldn’t meet his gaze. You didn’t want to admit that you weren’t as casual with sex as he was, that it would hurt you if he slept with someone else, even if you weren’t exclusive. 

“Ah, luv,” he said, tilting up your head with a finger under your chin. “I wouldn’t, I promise.”

You sighed, wanting to believe him. 

“I mean, I know this is new and I don’t want to… restrict anything obviously, it’s just you had mentioned that you’d done it before so I’d just appreciate a heads up--”

He stopped you with a kiss. In that kiss you felt that magical bond between you grow and glow. You felt the pull of your heart to his as if by a string. When he broke the kiss, your eyes fluttered open. 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, luv, but we’ve got something here.”

His tone was light, and his expression playful, but you could tell he was serious. 

“I know,” you swallowed hard. “And that’s exactly when you told me you usually sabotage things.”

He winced as if hit with something and nodded. 

“I did say that,” he said. “And it was true.”

“It  _ was _ ?” you asked. 

He licked his lip and sat back for a moment, taking a second to gather his thoughts. 

“I hate to admit it,” he smirked. “But I haven’t even thought about another person since we started this whole thing, in that way.”

You blinked, unsure if he were telling the truth. 

“I know,” he read the disbelief on your face. He seemed to think for a moment, and then he got up swiftly. “And I can prove it.”

He held his hand out for you and you took it, grabbing his coat off the grass as you did. You followed him inside and back downstairs. He got a bottle of whiskey out and poured a tiny amount into a glass. 

He held his hand over the glass and closed his eyes. 

“Verum ut bibentis,” he murmured. Then, handing the drink to you, he said, “This will make the drinker of this beverage tell the truth. Go on, try it, just take a small sip and I’ll ask you a question. It’ll only work for one question per sip. Just so you know I’m telling the truth about this truth serum,” he winked. 

“What’re you gonna ask?” you laughed. 

“Oh, I dunno, what was the name of your first crush or something. Doesn’t matter. You’ll feel the effects and know that it’ll work on me,” he said. 

You looked warily at him, but took a sip. He waited a moment. 

“Now, let’s see… What’s your favorite thing about me?” he asked. 

You laughed, seeing how different the example question had been. You weren’t going to answer, seeing as he was clearly playing with you, but you couldn’t stop the words from coming out. It was like being extremely drunk and having no filter, but with the added sensation that something was physically pulling the words out of you. 

“I don’t think I have one favorite,” you answered. “But I love the way you look at me. I love your eyes.”

You blushed, not used to being so honest about what attracted you to him. You handed the drink back to him. He was smiling at you and the look he gave you made it hard for you to remember why you were here in the kitchen and not in his bed.

“Your turn,” you managed.

He took a sip, finishing the glass. He wiped his lips and waited patiently for you to ask your question. You teetered on the balls of your feet, anxious for the answer. 

“Since we met, have you considered sleeping or having romantic relations with anyone else, now or in the future?” you asked. 

The words spilled out of him faster than yours had. 

“I’d rather die,” he said. 

He heard the words himself, and looked pleasantly surprised. 

“Why the shock?” you laughed, feeling the same amount of relief yourself. 

“I mean I knew of course, but… just never heard it out loud. I sound… different”

“Maybe you are,” you offered. 

He seemed to enjoy that thought for a moment before setting the glass on the table and pulling you into a kiss. It wasn’t the start of anything, rather more of a conclusion. A way to seal that you’d been truthful to each other, that you were both in this. 

“I don’t know about you, but conjuring a demon was awfully tiring,” you said, leaning your forehead against his. 

“Mm,” he agreed. And you could hear in his voice the level of energy he was at. That conjuring had taken a lot out of him.

“Come on,” you smiled, nearly dragging him down the hallway. You saw his eyes were basically already closed as he followed you blindly. 

He robotically disrobed, leaving only his boxers on as he fell into bed. He left a spot for you as you took off the white dress they’d given you, hoping to never see it again. You rid yourself of your underwear as well, happy to be free of anything associated with today. 

If he hadn’t been so tired he would have definitely responded with more than a pleasant hum when feeling your bare body against him. As it were, he needed rest, and you both soon fell asleep.

You woke in the late morning, feeling Constantine’s arms around you. Slipping out of bed without waking him, you donned one of his shirts and headed to the kitchen. 

There wasn’t much in the fridge but you managed to find some eggs and toast and made a little breakfast on a tray you found lodged in the back of a cabinet. You walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, resting the tray in front of you. 

Running your hand through his hair, you gently woke him. 

“Rise and shine,” you smiled. 

He blinked and inhaled, slowly coming to. He’d been asleep for nearly twelve hours, and it showed. He looked well rested and happy. Well, as happy as Constantine could be, you supposed. His gaze found your face first and he smiled sleepily. Then he saw the breakfast and laughed. 

“Breakfast in bed?” he asked. “What did I do to deserve such domesticity?”

You shrugged. 

“Saving me from a bloodthirsty demon?” you offered.

“I’ll take it,” he smirked, sitting up to grab a plate. 

You took the other and you ate together in bed. After a long time of lounging and lazily kissing, you got up and got dressed to go shopping. Chas had offered to pick you up and drop you off while he ran some errands, and you and Constantine found yourselves in the middle of a mall.

“I hate these bloody places,” Constantine grumbled, scowling at a perfume lady. You chuckled and walked among the many clothes. 

“Just ‘cause you can’t smoke, probably,” you smirked. 

“Doesn’t help,” he said, eyes on everyone as if they were suspicious. 

You walked by a sexy lingerie display and stopped. 

“Ah, but what treasures there are here,” you said, gesturing to the lacy getup. 

His attention perked up at this, and you laughed, adding the underwear to your pile of clothes to try on. 

“Go wander around the ties or something, I’ll just be a few minutes trying some stuff on.”

You shooed him away, though he was reluctant to leave your side. Before going into the dressing room, you found a slinky black dress, and grabbed it. Inside the dressing room, most of the stuff you’d found fit perfectly. You’d gotten some jeans and t-shirts for everyday wear along with some more underwear. The lingerie also looked pretty good on you. But the  pièce de résistance was the dress you’d nabbed. 

It hugged your curves in all the right ways. Your boobs looked amazing, your ass looked incredible. It had cutouts around the sides that just barely revealed your scars. You loved it. Even if you were buying with your own money you would have splurged on this. He was going to love it. 

You hid the dress under the pile of regular clothes as you exited the room. You found him wandering around the tie section, but he hadn’t picked anything out. Instead he was studying a tie that looked identical to the one he had on already. 

“I see you have an intense interest in fashion,” you noted sarcastically. 

He looked up and seemed relieved to see you, as if he had thought you wouldn’t be coming back. 

“All set?” he asked hopefully. 

“Yes,” you smiled to yourself. 

You couldn’t wait to get into that dress and wow him. Before going to the checkout counter, you grabbed some simple flats, sneakers, basic toiletries and cosmetics. He gave you his card and you checked out without a problem, feeling only marginally guilty for basically stealing from someone. You were sure $300 was not something the richest American would even notice on their statement, though. 

You got lunch with Chas at the mall, much to Constantine’s dismay. The two of you enjoyed yourself, but Constantine spent the time eating and sulking. You wondered if he preferred demons to suburbia. During lunch Chas mentioned getting your ID and everything sorted with the police force back home thanks to a few friends he had up there a few influencing spells. It felt good to have everything sorted again. You also stopped by a kiosk and got a phone. It seemed almost foreign after all this time without one, and with greater wonders around you.

After the mall Chas dragged the two of you to a hardware store where he spent ages looking at boring things that neither you nor Constantine cared about. You both played the “when can we go home, dad,” bit too much. Afterwards, Chas lent you his reward card for the supermarket and you stocked up on real food. 

When you got back, you unpacked the groceries easily, and looked at your new clothes in their bags. 

“What’s up?” he asked, looking at your hesitant features. 

“I, um… Where should I put this stuff?” you asked. “Your room?”

“Seeing as you’ll be sleeping there, I’d say so. And I’d also say it’s  _ our _ room, yeah?”

You grinned and nodded.    
“Just checking,” you answered sheepishly. 

“Pet, you don’t have to check anything,” he said, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you to him. “You live here as long as you want to. I want you to be comfortable.”

You nodded and he kissed your forehead before letting you go unpack. 

“What time are we leaving for our date?” you yelled from your new room. “And where are we going?”

It suddenly occurred to you that you had no idea what you would be doing. Maybe that dress wouldn’t be appropriate for it, whatever it was.

He came in from the kitchen and leaned against the doorway, cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

“I thought I’d take you on a classic date, my favorite pub.”

You laughed. You should have guessed. Good thing the dress would be perfect for whatever dive bar he’d take you to. Honestly, you were grateful he’d picked such a low key environment. You’d both be comfortable, at home there. You wouldn’t be pretending to be something you weren’t in some fancy restaurant or whatever.

“Perfect,” you nodded. 

“Leave in… how long do you need to get ready?” he asked. 

“I’m guessing about a half hour longer than you.”

“So a half hour from now,” he winked. 

You rolled your eyes and nodded. He left you alone to get ready. You did your makeup and hair as best you could and slid into the dress. The overall effect was amazing. You looked truly sexy and you weren’t quite sure how you’d achieved it in such a small amount of time.

You peeked out of the bedroom to see that he was reading something on the couch. Leaning in what you hoped was a sexy pose, you tried your most sultry tone. 

“Ready?” you asked. 

He closed his book as he got up from the couch, and you saw him swallow hard. 

“Fuck me,” he muttered. 

“Maybe after,” you winked. 

He dropped the book on the floor and walked, dream-like, over to you. You noticed he’d actually tightened his tie and put on a fresh shirt for you. You smelled the cologne he’d put on once he reached you, and saw that he’d also shaved. For him that basically matched your efforts.

You didn’t think he blinked since he saw you, and his hands slid slowly along your hips as if testing to see if you were real. His gaze finally reached yours. 

“You got this today?” he asked. You nodded. “And what’s underneath it?” he asked cheekily, stealing a glance at your body again. You hit his arm teasingly. 

“Play your cards right and you might find out,” you smirked. 

He nearly growled and kissed you hungrily. 

“Let’s go,” he said breathlessly. 

He led you upstairs and outside to where a car was waiting for you. It wasn’t Chas, you realized. Probably some sort of lift service. But when you got in, there was a divider up, like a limo. You were appreciative of the privacy, and snuggled up to Constantine as the car took off. It wasn’t a long ride, and you were sure if it were, Constantine’s creeping hand would have made it all the way up your thigh. You managed to keep it to just making out in the back seat, however, and only looked mildly flushed once you exited the car. 

The place had a huge neon sign out front that read SHRIEK. It didn’t look quite like a biker gang type bar, but you wouldn’t be surprised to find those types inside. 

“M’lady,” Constantine got the door for you. 

You entered into a surprisingly docile place. There was a pool table to your left, some tables and chairs nearby it. On the right was the bar, long enough to seat around twenty people, with two bartenders behind it. The crowd looked comfortable, like they came here every night. It was reasonably loud with all the patrons talking and the punk music playing. Constantine lit a cigarette and nodded to the older male bartender.

“Come on, luv,” he said, placing his hand on your lower back and walking you past the bar and into a back room. 

You could feel multiple eyes on you, and caught quite a few men staring. Constantine kept his eyes ahead, but his hold was strong on your hip now. The back room was large as well, but not as full. It had booths that lined two walls, and an area for darts with some tables nearby as well. 

Constantine picked a booth on the far wall, away from the other patrons, and you sat down.

“I’ll order us some food and drinks, eh?” he asked. “Take a quick gander at the menu and let me know what you want.”

You picked out what you wanted and told him what drink to order for you. He kissed you and promised to be right back. As you waited, you looked at the art on the walls. Interested, you got up to examine them closer. They were old photographs. It looked like this bar had been around for a long time, and you were curious about the history. 

You thought the hand on your arm turning you around was Constantine, but when you saw it was a random man, you balked, pulling your arm back. 

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” the man asked. 

He had dark hair and an unruly beard. His beer belly hung out from under his shirt. He stood a good foot taller than you. You cringed at him. 

“Just living for a man to feed me a cliche line like that,” you muttered. 

“Heh,” he laughed, shaking his whole body. “You’re a funny one.”

“I’m actually here with someone, so…” you trailed off, hoping he’d get the hint. 

You tried to step around him, but he caught your arm again, pulling you back around. You wanted to turn around and look for Constantine, but you also didn’t want to turn your back on this man again.

“Just wait a second, betcha I could change your mind.”

“You one thousand percent could not, and will not, I promise,” you spat. “Let go of me.”

He brows furrowed in anger and he made no move to release you. 

“Or what?” he asked darkly. 

No one was around in the area to see this happening, and you wish you’d had your usual purse with your pepper spray in it. 

“Or fucking this,” you said, and swiftly kicked him in the balls. 

He crumpled, letting your arm go immediately and falling to the floor. 

“Oh!” you heard an excited yell of appreciation from behind you. 

Turning, you saw Constantine with a proud smirk on his face as he looked at you. As his gaze drifted to the man, however, his features clouded over with the most rage you’d ever seen. More than with the demon, you realized. 

He walked up to the man, and kicked him hard in the stomach. 

“The lady said no, mate,” he nearly shouted. 

The man cringed and clutched his stomach as he writhed on the floor. You weren’t sure if you were enjoying this or not. Constantine kicked again and the man cried out. You wrapped your arms around his waist and hugged him. 

“I’m fine,” you promised, looking up at him. 

His features were still contorted into intense anger, but they softened when he looked at you. He blinked, as if coming out of a dream. 

“Sammy!” he yelled towards the bar. 

The older bartender you’d seen came in shortly after with two men by his side. They hauled the man out of the room and presumably out of the bar, while Sammy stayed with you two. 

“Cheers, mate,” Constantine said, shaking the man’s hand. 

“Anytime,” Sammy said with a quick smile to you. He headed back to the bar without another word. 

Constantine led you back over to the booth, sitting across from you. 

“Fuck, not the best start to the date, eh?” he asked. “Almost can’t blame him for trying though,” he said, eyes drifting down your body. “I’d have hit on you too.”

“Yeah, hit on, not assaulted,” you clarified. 

“Aye, you got me there,” he smiled sadly. 

There was a small silence between you as Constantine took a long drink. You followed suit, tapping your glass with your finger. 

“I must admit, I’m a bit out of practice, luv,” he said with a sheepish grin. “What exactly do people talk about on first dates?”

You laughed, feeling the tension release from your shoulders. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” you shrugged. “Hobbies and interests, friends and family?”

“Well I think you know my hobbies and interests,” he smirked. 

“Friends and family then?” you tried.

You couldn’t truly hide how curious you were about him. He seemed to be made of whiskey and brawn. You couldn’t imagine him having a family, let alone him as a child.

“Well, you know Chas,” he said. “And that’s about it. A few other friends sprinkled about, but largely I walk this path alone.”

You nodded. Understandable in his line of work, you guessed. 

“Still, you must have had a family at some point, right?” you pressed, worried you were on dangerously intimate territory for a first date.

He smiled mirthlessly. 

“Mum died in childbirth,” he said grimly. “Dad called me killer all my life.”

You blinked. You’d not expected that. He didn’t look at you. Instead he looked at his glass, swishing the amber liquid around tranquilly.

“I’m a fucking tragic case, aren’t I?” he laughed mirthlessly. 

And at that moment, you reevaluated the way you looked at him. When you’d first met, you would have agreed. You thought he was broken, fragile, but you realized how wrong you were. He wasn’t broken, he was a survivor. He was stronger than you’d ever imagined. You covered his hands with yours and shook your head. 

“We all have fucked up shit about us,” you promised. “The fact that you’re here right now just shows how strong you are. There’s no tragedy in that.”

He gaze softened as he took in your words and his thumb rubbed tiny circles on your hand. 

“What about you?” he asked.

He listened intently as you told him about your small family. He listened to you talk about how your parents were gone now too, and after leaving your ex behind, you were starting fresh. 

“I don’t know that I could be considered a fresh start,” he laughed. “Maybe a few weeks old with a bit of rot starting in at best.”

You rolled your eyes and leaned across the booth’s table to kiss him. You were so wrapped up in each other, Sammy had to clear his throat to announce his presence. 

He laid down the food you’d ordered and it smelled delicious. 

“On the house,” he nodded at you. “Sorry about all that. Got a zero tolerance policy for shitheads.” He looked at Constantine good-naturedly and added, “A one tolerance policy.”

“Cheers,” Constantine smirked. 

“Thanks,” you added to Sammy. He smiled at you, looked at the two of you, and nodded to himself before leaving. 

“You save him from a ghost or something?” you guessed. 

“Nah, just saved him from a nasty groom-to-be. Woulda taken all his money and maybe his life if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“Wow, a bit mundane for you.”

“It was an off year,” he winked. 

You ate your food and talked easily after that. You found you had a lot of the same tastes in music and movies. You were unsurprised to find he had been in a band, and begged him to show you pictures when you got back home. 

“We were shite,” he laughed. “Even our name was horrible.” You waited for him to say it. “Mucus Membrane,” he cringed. 

“That’s amazing,” you laughed. 

“It actually was,” he admitted. “Some of the best times in that band.”

Once the food was gone and you’d both had quite a few drinks, things started getting more personal again.

“So I know I’ve mentioned my ex,” you said tentatively. “And I’ve only really been with a few other people, nothing more than a few months at a time… But what about you?”

He didn’t look guilty or worried, but he did have to think about it. 

“I’ve been around, luv. Not gonna lie to you. But relationship wise… No more than two or three that lasted longer than six months.”

“What happened to those?”

He sighed, and gave you the answer you were dreading.

“Some died,” he admitted. “Cause of what I do. Some left cause I’m a right old bastard.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his last comment, but you did appreciate the candor.

“I’m not gonna let that happen with you, pet. Neither of ‘em. We’ll grow old together,” he said, almost wishfully, and then nervously added, “If you like.”

“It’s okay, you know,” you said. “If you fuck up a little. I might fuck up too.”

“Right,” he laughed. 

“You’re not the only fucked up one in this relationship,” you pointed out. “I can freak out just as much as you can.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” he smiled playfully. 

You laughed and shook your head. 

“I know what it’s like to be scared of people getting close,” you admitted. “Even from the start of all this, in the beginning. I was fighting it every step of the way.”

“You felt like this from the beginning too?” he asked. 

“Duh,” you laughed. “I’m surprised it wasn’t obvious.”

“I mean I knew you thought I was fit,” he smirked. 

“Shut up,” you laughed. 

“You still scared?” he asked seriously. 

You took a breath and thought about it. Were you? Surely you should be. And yet you found you weren’t. 

“No,” you concluded. “I’m not.”

“You probably should be,” he noted. “I am.”   
“Well it’s a good thing you’ve got me then,” you smiled.

He laughed and nodded, smoothing his hand into yours and staring at them. 

“Should we get out of here?” he asked, his voice suddenly different, deeper. 

You felt a stirring in your core at the gravelly voice and nodded. He reached for his phone and ordered the lift back. He stared a bit longer than necessary, as if reading something. He seemed to respond, tapping something out, and you didn’t think it was to the lift service, as it took him a minute. 

“Sorry, luv. Ready?” he asked.

He put his phone away and held his hand out for you. He pulled you up surprisingly quickly and pulled you in close to him, kissing you. His kiss was urgent, and you knew if you let him keep going you’d end up on this booth table. 

“The cab,” you breathed, once you were able to pull yourself away.

He nodded and pulled you towards the exit. You waved to Sammy as you left and saw a knowing look in his eye. You blushed, following Constantine into the cab. It was harder to keep your hands off each other this time around. Thankful for the same barrier, you found you couldn’t help but nip at Constantine’s neck, kissing up to his lips and running your hand through his hair. By the time you got back to the house, you were both panting, and nearly ran out of the car and downstairs. 

You pulled him by his tie to crash against you, and could already feel his arousal pressing on you. You stumbled back against the table, and pushed the books and papers out of the way to jump up onto it. He stood between your legs as you kissed fervently. It was intoxicating, the touch and smell of him. Something had changed between you, strengthened your bond even more. 

You hiked up your dress and shimmied out of your panties as he undid his belt and rid himself of his pants as well. You wrapped your hands around the back of his neck and pulled him to you into a languid kiss, shifting to the edge of the table. You helped him unbutton his shirt and threw it to the floor. You ran your hand down his body, giving him a few strokes before helping to guide him to you. 

His thrusts were slow at first, easing into you, feeling you all around him. You both gasped at the pleasant sensation, and you gripped hard onto his shoulders, half concerned you’d leave more scars on them. But you forgot about that worry as he slammed into you, the two of you as close as you could be. 

You both came shouting obscenities mixed with each others names. You felt him spill into you and relax. His lips traveled down your jaw to your neck, gently nipping as he slipped out of you. Panting, you got off the table and pressed yourself against him. 

“Quite the first date after all,” you mumbled against his chest.    
“The best,” he answered with a smile. 

He pulled away to look at you again, his eyes soft and warm. 

“You do look absolutely stunning tonight,” he said, and you wondered if you were about to go again. “How did I get so lucky?”   
“You’re not so bad yourself,” you answered. 

He was completely naked, after all. You’d just hiked up your dress. You took a moment again to look at all his scars, all his tattooed wards. This was the body of a warrior of magic and mundane life alike, you realized. 

“You’re beautiful,” you muttered, not realizing until after you’d said it that it was out loud. 

He realized you weren’t looking his face, or his body, but his scars, his past, and he looked at you carefully. 

“You truly think that, don’t you?” he asked. 

You blinked and looked up at him. 

“Try the truth spell if you like,” you offered. 

“Don’t need to, luv,” he smiled. “Can see it in your eyes.”

You blushed, annoyed at being so easily read, but also thankful he believed you. 

“I’m sure you always know what I’m thinking,” you laughed, biting your lip. 

Your eyes traveled down his body. 

“I do now, bit,” he laughed. “Gonna need another minute before we go again.”

You walked a few paces in front of him and gently slid your dress down to the floor. You hadn’t worn a bra with it, so you matched his nudity with your own. Over your shoulder you put on the most innocent face you could. 

“Oh really?” you asked. 

You saw his pupils dilate and he took a deep breath. 

“You bloody minx,” he laughed, and lunged at you. 

You squealed and ran to the bedroom where he caught you, picking you up and swinging you around as you laughed. He laid you onto the bed as you were still giggling, and smiled, looking down at you. For a moment, he just stared, and you wished his face were as easily readable as your own features.

Whatever thought he had apparently took a back seat to the next, as he came down to kiss you, brushing up against you, revving you up again. The two of you grabbed each other, biting and nearly clawing at each other’s bodies trying to get as close and as much as possible. He was inside you, positioning your legs to get as deep as he could, hitting the spot that made you go crazy. You were screaming his name as you came, and he watched, soon following you in his own ecstasy. 

He threw himself beside you, panting, and kissed your shoulder. 

“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m kinda thankful for that demon,” he admitted. You snickered. “Speaking of which, I almost forgot your little present.”

“Present?” you asked, as he got up and walked to the dresser. He held out a gold chain, on which dangled what looked like rose quartz. “It’s beautiful,” you marveled. “When did you have time to buy this?”

“Didn’t buy it,” he said. “Made it. It’s enchanted to glow whenever that demon piece of shit is close by.”

You pulled your hair back and allowed him to drape the necklace around you. It was heavier than you’d expected, but the chain was short enough that it wouldn’t get in the way of anything.

“Thank you,” you said. 

“I want you to be safe,” he answered seriously. “And I know that’s not entirely possible. Not with me anyway.”

“From my perspective, I’ve only been safe when I’m around you,” you reminded him.

He pulled you to him, and you sighed, relaxing into his arms and feeling especially adored. You collapsed back into bed together, and he nestled into you, burrowing into the crook of your neck, and you soon found yourself asleep.

When you woke up, you expected to feel Constantine behind you, but you didn’t. You realized you had woken because you heard noises from upstairs. It sounded like he was talking to someone. Glancing at the clock you saw it was super early. 

Getting out of bed, you grabbed his shirt off the ground, as apparently was your routine now, and listened. It was a male voice, probably Chas, you figured. You could run up and return that rewards card he’d lent you yesterday. You grabbed it from your pocket, and rushed upstairs, card extended. 

What greeted you was not Constantine talking to Chas as you’d anticipated, but rather Constantine talking to two men and a woman.

“Fuck,” you muttered when they saw you. 

The blonde cocked her head to the side and grinned smugly, alternating her gaze from you to Constantine. Constantine looked like he’d just given up a huge secret and sighed. 

“Ah, well, I suppose you might as well meet some of the Legends,” he said. 

 


	11. Chapter 11

You were still frozen. Not only did you probably have wild sex hair, but you were also in Constantine’s shirt that was barely buttoned in front of these strangers. You were still holding out the rewards card, and retracted it in favor of trying to cover up a little more and fix your hair. If it was Chas, you wouldn’t have been as embarrassed. He’d seen you like this before, hell, he’d seen you nearly possessed, you didn’t have anything to prove to him. However, the severe looking blonde woman and her two compatriots were total strangers. And if they were friends of Constantine, this was not the first impression you wanted to make.

The man standing to the right of the blonde scared you a little with the intensity of his stare. His brows seemed permanently furrowed, his leather jacket tight around muscular arms. He stood behind the blonde, as did the other man, as if she were their leader. The other man was the exact opposite, tall and gangly with a wide, genuine smile on his features.

“I guess you get to meet the missus,” Constantine said to them. 

The way he said it was strange. It wasn’t so much that he was ashamed of you, but it was like he hadn’t wanted them to meet you at all. The reason for which you had no idea. 

“This missus?” the blonde asked.

“I’m Ray,” the tall man said, ignoring her disbelieving tone. 

He happily extended his hand to you. You awkwardly shook it and then immediately went to stand near Constantine, trying to at least hide a little behind him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t think I’d be meeting new people,” you laughed. “I would have put actual clothes on. Thought you guys were just Chas.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Ray smiled. “What’s your name?” You gave him your name. 

“Like legal missus?” the blonde asked, as if no one else had spoken. 

Constantine rolled his eyes as if talking to his mother. 

“This is Sara Lance,” he said, gesturing to her. “And this is Mick Rory.”

The bald man nodded at you but didn’t speak. 

“Constantine, have you… settled down?” she asked. 

“Is this why you told us to come so early?” Ray asked. “So she’d still be sleeping and we wouldn’t know?”

“Best laid plans,” Constantine shrugged, lighting up a cigarette. “Now, if you’ll take your magic book and go,” he said, ushering them towards the door. 

“No, no, no,” Sara laughed, pushing him out of her way. “This is far too interesting.”

It clicked that he must have been texting them at the bar last night, arranging this meeting. You wondered again why he didn’t want you to meet them. 

Knowing you’d probably pay for it later, you asked, “You guys want to stay for breakfast?”

You felt rather than saw Constantine’s gaze heatedly pointed at you, but you looked at Sara waiting for an answer. 

“We would love to, right guys?” she asked. 

“That would be lovely,” Ray nodded. “Any friend of Constantine’s… Or any… missus? Of Constantine’s, is a missus… or friend… of ours.”

“Good recovery,” Mick grunted sarcastically. 

“Just let me put on actual clothes and I’ll whip us up something!” you promised, zipping downstairs.

You quickly changed and brushed down your hair into something a little less wild, and found the group in the kitchen. 

“So, how did you guys meet?” Sara asked. 

The three of them sat at the kitchen counter as you got out the makings for pancakes. Constantine stood in the corner, smoking, staring at you all as if trying to make this morning go by faster.

“Oh, uh, he saved me from a demon,” you laughed, realizing that was perhaps the least traditional way to meet someone. 

“And then the two of you formed the Salvator Ponetur Vinculum,” Ray guessed. 

“The what now?” you asked. 

“Our bond, luv,” Constantine said to you. He turned to Ray. “How the fuck do you know about that, Science Boy?”

Ray looked almost nervous, but managed to speak clearly.  

“I’ve been reading up on magic stuff since we’ve been dealing with more magic lately. It’s one of the most intense magical bonds there is. Often it can result in lifelong friendships, but other times it can be a very visceral, carnal connection.” He seemed to blush a little before adding, “At least that’s what I’ve read.”

“Cool,” you laughed. “Didn’t know it had a name.”

“Oh yeah. There’s a lot of writing about it,” he continued, seemingly happy that you were interested in his knowledge. “Some writings describe a very empathic connection, almost telepathic. Some people describe feeling their partner’s emotions from the other side of the globe, even.”

“Like an emotional spooky action at a distance,” you mused, almost to yourself. 

“Exactly!” Ray brightened. “Are you a science nerd too?”

“No,” you laughed. “Saw it explained in a film once.”

“Oh,” he smiled, not disappointed. “Well, a good analogy.”

You started grilling the pancakes, and realized you hadn’t gotten any plates out. 

“Can you grab some plates and syrup and stuff?” you asked Constantine. 

He nodded and started gathering the things you’d asked for. You turned to the Legends to see them all gaping. 

“What?” you asked. 

“I’ve never seen Constantine do literally anything anyone has asked of him,” Sara explained. “Magical connection indeed.”

“Ha-ha,” Constantine fake laughed through the side of his mouth unburdened by his cigarette. 

You smiled inwardly, proud of your ability to apparently do the impossible. He handed you the plates with a quick kiss on the cheek, and took up his position leaning against the wall again. You finished up the pancakes and the crew followed you over to the table where you all sat down. Constantine seemingly read your mind as you blushed, looking at the spot where he’d taken you last night. He smiled slyly at you and winked before sitting down and grabbing a plate. 

Mick seemed the most eager to eat, and stuffed huge forkfuls of pancakes into his mouth. 

“Delicious,” he muttered to you in between chewing. 

“Thanks,” you laughed.

“These are great,” Sara added. “Honestly Constantine, you don’t deserve this woman.”

You could tell she was joking, but Constantine didn’t smile. Not really. And in that moment you felt immense guilt and self loathing. You were unsure why until you thought of what Ray had mentioned. Perhaps these feelings were not your own. Perhaps they were his. But why would he feel that way? You looked at him but gleaned no answers.

Having finished your plate, and Constantine his, you felt your body moving towards him. You got up out of your chair almost without your mind’s consent, and sat on his lap, running a hand through his hair and looking at him worriedly. You kissed his forehead and felt him relax. You made a mental note to talk to him later about this. 

It was only once he was smiling up at you, arm around your waist, that you remembered you had company. You smiled sheepishly at your new friends. 

“I realized I didn’t ask you what you guys do,” you said, trying to ignore the heat in your cheeks. “Something with magic Ray mentioned?”

“We’re time travelers who fix aberrations in the timeline and generally kick ass,” Sara smiled.

You nodded as calmly as you could, taking that all in. You could feel Constantine smirking at you, watching you struggle to maintain your composure. 

“Right, so boring desk jobs, then,” you joked.

Sara laughed. 

“There is a surprising amount of paperwork,” she nodded. “Though my girlfriend prefers to do that part of it.”

“And you needed to borrow this book?” you asked. “I’m not keeping you from saving the world with pancakes am I?”

Ray laughed and shook his head. 

“It’s more of an encyclopedia type book. Just so we know a little more about what we could be up against.”

You were going to ask about that, but you were interrupted by the door slamming on the upper level.

“John!” Chas’ voice boomed. 

His footsteps were heavy on the stairs, and you slid off Constantine’s lap. He stood up, ready for the urgency Chas brought with him. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Possession,” Chas breathed heavily. “Priest's daughter, ten miles away.”

Constantine stole a look as you as if asking for permission to leave. You spotted his usual bag by the corner near you and grabbed it for him. 

“Go,” you said. 

He held your face in his hand for a moment and kissed you, sweeping the two of you into a world of your own for a moment. Then he cast a look back at Sara.

“We’ll stick around for a while,” she promised. “Go save the girl. Holler if you need backup.”

He nodded and then stole one more look at you as if centering himself.    
“Come on!” Chas yelled from the stairs, and Constantine snapped to it.

He bounded up the stairs, and as quickly as your normal morning had started, it ended. You found yourself alone with the Legends. You sat back down and weren’t quite sure what to do. Constantine had been a reassuring presence, and now you felt a little lost with these mere acquaintances. 

It looked like everyone had finished their breakfasts, and you sighed, unsure how to proceed. You knew they were staying mostly for Constantine’s backup if he needed it, but it somehow still felt like they were babysitting you. You felt the sudden urge to get out of the house. 

“Wanna go for a walk?” you suggested. 

Ray perked up, and smiled eagerly. 

“I’ve been wanting to explore around this region,” he nodded. “I’ve heard there’s some excellent bird watching here.”

You couldn't help but laugh at his nerdy enthusiasm. The others rolled their eyes but nodded. 

“A little stroll to digest sounds good,” Sara indulged you.

Mick said nothing, but looked unenthusiastic. Ray clapped him on the back on his way by him and up the stairs, to which his back received a smoldering glare.

It felt good to be outside. You’d really only been out for a day or two versus a week in captivity and it was well needed. Constantine’s house was nestled back a ways in the woods, and there seemed to be some natural trails surrounding it. It was warm, but early enough in the morning not to be too humid. You followed Ray, mostly sticking beside Sara. The boys ventured a little more ahead of you, giving the two of you a little space. 

“Is this the part where you tell me if I hurt your friend you’ll kill me?” you asked. 

She smirked, not unlike Constantine, and shook her head. 

“I’m not worried about him,” she said. “I’m worried about you.”

You cocked your head, confused, and she took a breath before explaining.

“Me and Constantine are alike,” she started. “We’re both damaged goods. We’re both in relationships with people that are too good for us that we’ll eventually fuck up,” she explained. “And when he does fuck up, just know that it wasn’t personal. He’s just… Constantine.”

You felt your core tense and you felt slightly distant from her. 

“I don’t think John’s damaged,” you relayed your previous night’s revelations. 

She looked at you, confused. 

“Have you met him?”

“Yeah,” you said. “And he’s not perfect. But he’s not broken either. He’s strong. He’s a survivor.”

You said this with such force, such belief, that Sara actually stopped in her tracks. It took you a moment, and you stopped too, waiting for her to catch up with you.

“I’m sure we’ll both make mistakes,” you offered. “But not because we aren’t whole. We’re not that complete each other type model. We’re both just in this together trying to figure out what’s next.”

She smiled softly and seemed to reflect on something. 

“You seem wiser than you look,” she admitted. 

“What do I look like?” you laughed. 

“Hot?” she joked.

And in that quip, in that twitch of the lip, you saw her similarity with Constantine. You weren’t surprised they were friends. You laughed and walked with her a few more moments in silence.

“I think you’re good for him,” she decided, seemingly out of nowhere. “You know, when we walked in, I thought you were just another bimbo, no offense to the bimbos out there, of course,” she amended. “But there's something different about him now. I know you don’t think he’s broken but whatever you want to call it… he seems less of it.”

She seemed sincere and it meant a lot to have someone else besides Chas see the benefits of your relationship. 

“But I’d still be careful,” she warned. “He’s had years to build up defenses if he’s anything like me. Which he is. And he’ll find excuses when he feels too vulnerable.”

“Like what?” you asked.

“Anything,” she said. “Just don’t let him push you away because he’s scared.”

“He tried that already,” you admitted. “The house wouldn’t let him.”

“The house?” she asked. 

You told her of what had happened when he’d tried to kick you out, how the house had protected him and forced you to stay. 

“I’ve always liked that house,” she smiled. She looked ahead of you where Mick looked like he might punch a very excited Ray, and sighed. 

“Mick, come here,” she ordered. 

Mick unclenched his fists and came over. You went to go see what Ray was so excited about. The two of them passed you as Ray showed you a berry. 

“Want a snack?” he asked. 

You looked wearily at the berry, but he popped the red fruit into his mouth. 

“Certified Eagle Scout,” he promised. “They’re delicious.”

You took a berry and tried one. He was right, they were. He seemed happy you’d trusted him and followed you as you continued on the makeshift trail. Mick and Sara walked ahead of you as if on a mission to get somewhere. 

“So, how long have you known Constantine?” Ray asked. 

“Oh, not long,” you admitted. “Like a week or so? But it feels like forever.”

“It’s no joke that Salvator Ponetur Vinculum,” Ray smiled sadly. 

“The way you talk about it, you sound like you’ve felt it before,” you said. “How you were describing it… it’s very close to what I feel.”

He sighed and kept his eyes on the trail ahead. 

“I thought I had it once,” he admitted. “But she already had a predetermined soulmate.”

Your heart fell. You could see the sadness in his eyes. You could barely imagine what it would feel like if Constantine had one and you felt the way you did still.

“What happened?” you asked. 

“We were together for a while,” he said. “But then her soulmate came back… Long story. And we broke up.”

You stopped walking and he stopped too. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said. “If it’s half of what I feel for him I just… I can’t imagine.”

“It was rough,” he admitted. “But life goes on, eh?” 

He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Sometimes I think it’s all in my head,” you admitted. “That he doesn’t really feel the same way.”

“That’s all relationships,” he laughed. “Not just magically enhanced ones.”

“Yeah I guess,” you chuckled, starting to walk again.

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. When he did, he was quiet and uncharacteristically solemn. 

“Does your chest hurt?” he asked. “When you’re away from him?”

It was almost funny because in that moment of silence you were thinking about the pressure you were feeling on your chest, how maybe you were allergic to the pollen in this area making it harder for you to breathe. But you realized it was your heart. It felt like it was pulling you along, ten miles away to where Constantine was locked in battle with a demon.

“Yes,” you admitted. 

“You’ll have to let me know if it ever stops,” he said. 

You’d caught up to the others who were looking at a particularly large animal paw print in the mud. 

“It’s a tiger,” Mick insisted.

“Actually it’s a dog,” Ray chimed in.    
Mick turned a menacing gaze on him, and Sara laughed. She took Ray by the arm and pulled him along so as not to get murdered. You lagged behind with Mick, more than a little intimidated. However, as you were looking at him, you noticed something familiar.

“Is that typewriting ink?” you asked.

He noticed you staring at his hand and pulled his jacket down farther. 

“No,” he muttered. 

“Do you write?” you asked, ignoring his obvious lie.

He turned to you, watching you as if waiting for something. 

“I used to use one all the time, only reason I ask,” you shrugged. 

He stared straight ahead and nearly grunted, “I write sci-fi romance novels.”

“Sweet!” you exclaimed. 

He seemed surprised at your enthusiasm, but smiled slightly. You were surprised that he’d kept his jacket on in the hot weather, but when he moved his arm right, you could see why. He had scars of some sort covering a lot of the surface area. You didn’t mean to stare, and he caught you. 

“Sorry,” you muttered. “Just wondering why you wore a jacket out here.”

He huffed and shrugged. 

“Lots of fire in my life.”

You felt the need to even the playing ground so you hoisted up your shirt to show him your scars. 

“A demon in mine,” you offered. 

He stopped to stare at your fierce scar and nodded appreciatively. 

“Sweet scar,” you heard Sara mutter. She must have turned around at some point and seen you. 

“Thanks,” you laughed awkwardly. You hadn’t meant to show everyone, but you weren’t mad that they were impressed either.

“You get that from the demon?” she asked, still looking. You lowered your shirt after she’d looked for a while. 

“Yeah. Constantine swiped me out of the way just in time,” you recalled. “I could have been dust real quick.”

“Or worse,” Sara nodded absently. 

You knew she was right, and realized how lucky you were. Not only had you come out of that whole ordeal nearly unscathed, you’d also gained what could possibly be the love of your life, if you were so bold to use those words.

“You guys wanna grab some lunch soon?” you offered, realizing it was getting later in the afternoon. You’d been chatting and walking around for some time now.

“We could go to our place,” Sara smirked, looking into the field to your right. 

“A field?” you asked. 

She reached into her pocket for some kind of device and pressed something. Suddenly, a huge spacecraft appeared out of nowhere.

“Fuck me,” you muttered, openly gaping at it.

“She’s more like John than we thought,” Ray laughed at your language.

They invited you on board, and you took it in stride, trying to play it cool. Just a week ago the coolest thing you’d seen was a robot car drive itself on Youtube. This was quite different.

“Normally there’s a few more hooligans about,” Sara admitted. “But they’re with my better half at the moment.”

You hardly heard her as you walked into an immense control center with screens that looked like what Mick probably wrote about. They led you into another room that sort of resembled a kitchen, though not with any appliances you were used to. 

“What do you want for lunch?” Sara asked. 

“Um, what do you have?” you asked. 

“Anything,” she smiled. 

“Cheeseburger?” you tried. 

“Gideon, fabricate a cheeseburger for our new friend here,” she said, seemingly to the ceiling. 

“Right away captain,” a female voice said, emanating from the air.

“The fuck was that?” you gaped as a cheeseburger appeared on the table in front of you.

“That’s our fabricator,” Ray smiled. “It takes individual molecules and--”

“Don’t ruin the food magic,” Mick warned, and ordered the same as you. 

Ray didn’t push it and ordered a salad. Sara ordered her lunch and you all sat down at a chrome table.

You took a bite of your burger experimentally, and let out a happy moan. 

“Wow,” you said between bites. “Gideon’s amazing.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the ceiling said. 

“So she can fabricate any food?” you asked. 

“Any _ thing _ ,” Ray explained. 

“Huh,” you nodded, an idea forming in the back of your head. “So like anything that ever existed?”

“Why, do you want something?” Sara asked. 

“Sort of,” you said, still thinking. “Did Constantine ever tell you about his band?”

Sara’s eyes lit up with amusement. 

“No,” she said.

“Oh, well, I was thinking it’d be kind of cute if Gideon could fabricate me a band t-shirt or something,” you blushed. 

“Right away,” Gideon said, and you saw a shirt appear on the table where your burger had been. 

You gaped again, but got up to look at it. It was horrible and wonderful all at once and you laughed, sitting back down with it. 

“Amazing,” you chuckled. “Thank you.”

“Thank  _ you,” _ Sara said. “More material to tease him with is always good.

You blushed, hoping that wouldn't get you in too much trouble with Constantine. When you thought of him, you could feel your chest compress as if there were a huge weight on it. You didn’t feel any dread, though, and you took that to mean that he wasn’t in any immediate danger.

After you’d all finished your meal, Sara stood up.

“We should probably get back,” she said, checking her watch. “If Constantine gets home and his beloved isn’t there he might shit a brick, and we don’t need that cleaning bill on our hands.”

The gang seemed to agree, and stood with her, the three of you following her back out of the canteen, through the command center and out of the ship. The ship disappeared behind you as you left, and you marveled at it, wondering how different science and magic truly were.

Sara’s intuition had been pretty spot on. You arrived just as Chas’ car pulled up. It was sort of indescribable the feeling that you had when you saw him. His coat was smeared with ash, and his cheek was cut and bleeding, but you somehow couldn’t see that at the moment. All you saw was Constantine, stepping out of the car with eyes only on you. He walked swiftly to you, and took you into his arms, kissing you deeply. It felt like you’d been holding your breath for the hours he’d been away. As he kissed you, you felt your body reenergize with new life. When he finally broke the kiss, you weren’t even sure how long it lasted, the two of you could only look at each other.

“Hi,” you breathed.

“Hi,” he sighed. 

“Um, if you’d like to continue this adult programming elsewhere, we’ll be on our way,” Sara muttered.

Constantine still held you close to him, your chest against his, his arm around your waist as he spoke to her. 

“Oi, fuck off,” he smirked, addressing her while still keeping his eyes on you. 

It was as if you couldn’t physically look away from each other. You thought you might be pathetic in wanting to be close to him for so long after only hours away, but it seemed he was similarly powerless. Eventually, your politeness won out, and you took a step sideways, still allowing his arm to remain wrapped around your waist.

“We should get going anyway,” she shrugged. “I’ll just grab the book and we can take off.”

She headed into the house, leaving you, Constantine, Chas, Mick, and Ray outside. Ray walked over to you and you could tell he wanted a hug, but Constantine’s grasp tightened on your hip. Ray clocked that and extended his hand. 

“It was truly a pleasure,” he said. “I hope we meet again.”

“Ditto,” you smiled. 

“You make a mean pancake,” Mick muttered. “You’re alright by me.”

He extended his hand and you shook it, pretty sure that full sentences uttered by this man to anyone were as meaningful as a soliloquy. 

Sara emerged from the house with the book, and walked over to you and Constantine. 

“If you fuck this up, I get her,” Sara said to him. You chuckled. 

He pulled you closer to him and kissed the top of your head. 

“Not a chance in hell, luv,” he said. 

Sara smiled approvingly at the two of you and joined her teammates. 

“We’ll see you soon,” she waved. 

“Hopefully bloody not,” Constantine yelled at their backs. 

When they were gone, you turned to Chas and addressed them both. 

“How’d it go with you guys?”

“Good,” Chas admitted. “Lower demon, nothing too tricky.”

“How is it you always escape without a scratch on you, and he always comes out looking half beaten?” you asked. 

“I think he does it to look tough coming back here to you,” Chas joked. 

You looked at Constantine who was making a face at him.

“What’s that you got in your hand, luv?” he asked. 

“Oh, nothing. A surprise,” you blushed, hiding it behind you. 

He seemed intrigued but said no more. 

“Gonna hang out for a bit?” Constantine asked Chas. 

“Seen enough of your face today, I think,” Chas smirked. 

“Dinner tomorrow?” you offered. 

“Only for you,” he smiled. 

He took off in his cab, leaving you and Constantine alone.

“So, what’s this surprise then?” Constantine asked cheekily. 

“Go inside and maybe I’ll show you,” you teased, still hiding the shirt behind your back. 

He chuckled but took your face in his hands quite seriously. 

“I missed you, bit,” he said. 

“I know, I missed you too. Like on an embarrassing level,” you admitted. 

He let out a breathy laugh. 

“Glad I’m not the only one.”

“Definitely not,” you assured him. 

The two of you walked inside and you made him stay in the kitchen while you went into the bedroom. Slipping off your clothes, you donned only his Mucus Membrane shirt. Stealing a cigarette off the nightstand, you let it hang from your mouth as you stepped out of the bedroom to where he could see you.

“Surprise,” you said cheekily. 

He looked at you and his jaw dropped. He laughed, in the way you laugh when you see something good from your past, but then he licked his lips and wrung his hands together. 

“Fuck, luv. You look…”

You waited for him to finish his sentence but he couldn’t. Instead he rushed across the room and grabbed you, seizing you to him as close as you could possibly be. 

“Good surprise then?” you muttered as his lips trailed down your neck. 

You weren’t sure how he spoke so easily with these things in his mouth, and you placed it on the table next to the couch. He laughed and nodded. 

“Just what I needed,” he said. 

When you were panting next to him on the bed, the shirt flung off long ago, you rolled over onto your side to look at him. He was smoking, staring up at the ceiling, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Hey,” you asked, pulling him out of his reverie. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you feel stuff that I feel?” you asked. “Like feelings that you know aren’t yours?”

“Hard to tell,” he smirked. “I’ve been feelin’ hot for myself lately, but that could also be my charming narcissism.”

You pushed him and laughed. 

“Seriously,” you said. “I think Ray’s right with that empathy link thing. I think I’ve been getting some of your emotions in my own head.”

“Like what?” he asked. 

You bit your lip, unsure how to approach this without messing it up. 

“Like… when Sara made that joke earlier about how I made the pancakes so good you didn’t deserve me?” You paused, but his face was unreadable. “I felt like it was true… only I know  _ I  _ don’t feel that way so…”

“Can you blame me?” Constantine laughed. “Listen, luv, there’s a reason I have a dark desire to keep you locked away from the rest of the world down here. Most of the reason is that I don’t trust the world out there. The other bit of it is that I know what they’d say about me and you.”

You furrowed your brows, confused. He took a long drag on his cigarette before. 

“I thought we got past this when the house told you to stop being dumb,” you said. 

He rolled to his side, using his arm as a pillow and holding his cigarette in his other hand.

“I’m trying,” he promised, and you felt that he meant it. “It’s not as easy as snapping your fingers and getting some self respect.”

You leaned in and kissed him. 

“If it’s any consolation, I’ll keep reminding you that, if anything, I’m the one that’s out of place here.”

He gave you a look and you couldn’t help but continue. The day had affected you in a way you hadn’t anticipated. 

“Your friends are all so impressive,” you sighed.    
“Not sure friends is quite the word,” he smirked. 

“Shut up. They’re all very nice. And knowledgeable. And skilled.”

“Don’t know how much knowledge or skill it takes to aim a fire gun,” he jested.

“You know what I mean,” you said. 

You shifted, sitting up as if making a kind of investment proposal. As you did, you saw his eyes wander down your body, and you laughed, covering yourself with the sheet to keep him focused. 

“I think if I’m going to be in this with you, I need to be  _ in _ this,” you said. “I need to be able to defend myself and maybe even back you up if you need it. 

Constantine’s half-smile dropped completely and he sat up too, eyes serious. 

“No,” he said definitively. You frowned, worried this would be the answer. 

“I saw your face today before you left. There was a moment where you almost didn’t leave because of me. I can’t be the reason people die,” you pleaded. “If I knew some stuff, you wouldn’t have to worry about me.”

He clenched his jaw closed and shut his eyes as he took a breath. 

“I promise you do not want to be part of this world,” he said. 

You ran your hand along his chest and down his arm to grab his hand. 

“I don’t think there’s any  _ want _ about it,” you admitted. “I don’t know if you feel this way… but I feel like if we weren’t together… this thing between us, it’s like it needs to be fed, as if we’re keeping each other alive.”

You waited for him to say something but he just stared at you. 

“I know it’s tempting to hide me away down here and play house, but we can’t do that forever.”

“Playing house has been fun,” he admitted. “Maybe I just wanted to pretend like I was a normal bloke again.”

“But you’re not,” you smiled. “And that’s why I lo--... That’s what makes you so amazing.”

You swallowed the word you had been about to say. It didn’t go unnoticed, but he didn’t press it. 

“Just some basic stuff,” you offered. “Just enough to get me out of trouble if I get into it.” You fingered your necklace hesitantly. “Especially if this starts to glow.”

His features turned grim for a moment while he looked at your necklace, but then his features brightened again.

“So I’d be your teacher,” he asked, eyebrow cocked. “And you’re my naughty student?”

You giggled and slapped his arm. 

“So you’ll do it?” 

He sighed, defeated, and nodded. 

“It’s hard to argue with a beautiful naked woman in my bed,” he admitted, but you felt the sincerity in his words. He understood your point, and conceded.

“First lesson starts tomorrow.” He said. “Now, what do you say we start off with some extra curricular activities?”

 


	12. Chapter 12

You were surprised by how excited you were to start learning magic. You woke up and realized that today was the day that Constantine would start teaching you. Yes, you wanted to be able to defend yourself, as you had argued, but you were also looking forward to understanding him more. Magic was such a huge part of who who was, and so far you’d only skimmed the surface on that part of it.

You had woken first, and felt his body wrapped tightly around you. You turned in his arms and felt him stir at your movements. 

“Morning professor,” you whispered seductively. 

“If you keep saying things like that, we’ll never actually make it to a lesson,” he warned. 

“What are we going to learn today?” you asked. 

“How to make some coffee and wake up?” he offered. 

You chuckled and nodded, slipping out of bed and pulling him out as well. After you’d eaten and gotten some caffeine into you, you waited patiently for him to say something that would start you off. He seemed to be lingering, scraping his plate and refilling his coffee. 

“I know you’re not the biggest fan of this plan,” you noted. “But we should probably get started.”

He took a breath and looked at you. 

“I know, luv,” he said. “Just… I wish I knew what I know now when I was pulled into this world.”

“I know that I want to be with you,” you said, pressing yourself against him. “And this is the way I can do it with the least amount of danger.”

He sighed, running his hand through your hair. 

“I know,” he said softly. “You’re just so… innocent.”

You cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“I think your sheets and tables would suggest otherwise.”

He laughed and shook his head. 

“In the realm of magic, pet. Once you start it’s… not unlike a drug I guess.”

“All things in moderation,” you said, miming taking notes. “Got it.”

He smirked and got up, taking your hand and leading you down the hall. You went into the room where he’d shown you how to throw knives. You had never had to do that so far, and you were hoping to learn a few more relevant skills now. You wondered if he had hoped that would be all he would have to teach you at the time.

He dragged the table to one end of the room, and placed an empty bottle from the trash on it. 

“First thing we’re gonna learn about is defense,” he explained. “How to get someone off you quick.”

Similarly to when he was teaching you how to throw, he stood behind you and positioned your arms and hands just so. 

“Just repeat after me,” he said. “Recede corpus hostili. And do this motion.”

He moved your hands around and away like you were pushing something. It felt both natural and unnatural at the same time. 

“Ready?” he asked, the scruff of his cheek brushing against yours. 

“Yes,” you answered, trying to concentrate with him so distractingly close. 

“Try it,” he said. 

You muttered the words as he led you through the hand motion, but nothing happened.

“Try again love, concentrate on the thing you want to push away.”

You tried, but he smelled so good, and his voice was so lovely in your ear. 

“Could you maybe stand over there?” you asked shyly. “You’re rather distracting.”

“Got the hots for teacher, eh?” he winked, but did as you asked. 

“You could say that,” you laughed. 

You turned your attention back to the bottle and closed your eyes to center yourself. It was much easier to think without him next to you, but his still-close position also made you feel strong. 

You muttered the words as you moved your hands, and to your surprise, the bottle flew off the table and shattered against the far wall. You looked excitedly over to Constantine whose mouth was agape. You wondered if you’d done something wrong. Was it meant to set the bottle on fire or something? Were you completely messing up already?

“Did I do it right?” you asked. 

“More than right, luv,” he said, recovering somewhat. “I was expecting a bit of a wobble, not a full blown fling.”

You grinned happily and he walked over to kiss you, still half distracted by the broken bottle. 

“I want you to try it with me,” he said. 

“What?” you laughed. 

“Just try it,” he said, motioning with his hands to bring it on. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” you said, unsure if you even could. He was much bigger than a bottle after all. 

“Do you know how much I get thrown around, luv? I’ll be fine. Just try it.”

You looked at him wearily but he was asking you to trust him and try it, so you did. You centered yourself, did the motions and muttered the spell, pushing energy out of your body and away from you. Constantine flew back, flailing and laughing as he crashed into the ground a few feet away. 

“Bloody fucking hell,” he laughed, propping himself up on his elbows with a wide grin. “I reckon you got magic in your blood. That’s natural talent I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Really?” you asked, rushing over to him to help him up. 

“Magic is like using a muscle you never knew you had with part of your brain that doesn’t exist,” he laughed. “It took me a whole day to just tilt that bottle when I started, let alone send it flying. Took me even longer to get a whole person in the air.”

“Maybe it’s our connection,” you offered. “Maybe we share more than emotions now.”

He shook his head. 

“That’s all you, I promise.”

You couldn’t help but smile proudly. It did feel like a muscle, in a way, similar to the way he’d described it, but it didn’t feel like an unknown one. Since stretching it, it felt like you’d used it before. And maybe somehow you had. Maybe you were protecting yourself longer than you were aware. The thought was comforting to you somehow.

“What’s next?” you asked. 

You practiced a few more defensive spells, but then Constantine sat you down on the bench as if he was going to say something quite serious. 

“You’re scaring me with that look,” you managed with a nervous smile. 

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I just… I can’t train you for this part, I can only tell you what I’ve experienced.”

“Okay…” you said, not sure what to anticipate. 

“In the event that you’re ever possessed by anything,” he started, and it seemed to physically pain him to say this, “I want to tell you what I’ve experienced so it’s less of a thrown into the deep end situation, and more like a familiar jump.”

You nodded, unconsciously moving your hands into his. 

“When it’s happened to me, and I hate to admit it has,” he shook his head. “I find it makes it easier for Chas or whoever to exorcise the thing if I separate myself from it.” He watched your face, careful to make sure you were paying close attention. “Demons thrive on pain and suffering, and when they get into me,” he laughed hollowly, “They aren’t starved by any means. But you have to shut that part off. You have to focus on the better parts of you, the better memories.”

“What did you think of?” you asked quietly. 

His thumb stroked a circular pattern on your hand. 

“My mum,” he said. “The pictures I’ve seen of her, what people have told me about her. Chas, when he’s not being a prick. But they have to be strong, vivid memories, things the demon cannot relate to.”

“I understand,” you nodded. 

“Can I… show you one?” he asked. 

You tilted your head to the side, confused. 

“How?” you asked. 

He licked his lips and leaned in slightly, pressing his forehead against yours. He withdrew his hands from yours and placed two fingers of each hand against your temples. He muttered something unintelligible. You gasped and closed your eyes as foreign images entered your mind.

It was  _ you _ , you realized after a moment. It was you from his perspective. They were flashes of no more than ten seconds each. You were laughing, smirking, talking, bending over, writhing beneath him. You were holding him, comforting him, caressing him. It was all you. 

Along with the visual memories came feelings of immense warmth and care. You felt like a dream, almost weightless with the happiness the images seemed to carry. You felt him pull away, and with him all of the visuals and sensations left.

It took you a moment to open your eyes, and when you did, you weren’t sure what to say. 

“As an example,” he shrugged nervously, sitting back and leaning against the wall. 

Your cheeks were flushed, you could feel them. You were still feeling the happiness like a residue on your brain, and you couldn’t wipe the smile from your face. 

“Those were lovely memories,” you said shyly. 

He seemed to relax, as if he wasn’t sure what you would have thought of them. You didn’t know why he thought you’d dislike them, they were all lovely, and mirrored some of your favorite moments with him too. 

“May I try?” you asked tentatively. 

He looked surprised, but excited. He leaned forwards and you pressed your foreheads together again. He guided your hands up to his temples and told you the words to utter.

It took you a moment to gather up everything you wanted to show him, everything you’d push against a demon should they enter your body.

“Can you see it?” you asked. 

“Yes,” he answered breathlessly. 

You showed him everything, from the beginning. You showed him the secret looks you’d sneaked while he wasn’t paying attention. You showed him how lovingly you watched him as he slept, how beautiful he looked naked. You showed him the proud, trusting gaze you watched him through while he summoned that demon. You let him feel the butterflies in your stomach when he was near you, the thrill and the excitement of his kiss. You felt it welling up in you and while it was a wonderful feeling, it was also draining. You felt the muscles you used for magic begging for a little reprieve, so you pulled away, looking at him and fighting the urge to yawn.

You expected him to have the same reaction as you had. You thought he’d be smiling, happy to see the best of the best of the two of you, but he looked confused. 

“Is that truly how you see me?” he asked. 

“What do you mean?” 

He held your hands in his once again. 

“You do know I’m a horrible bastard right?” he asked with a small smirk on his lips.

You chuckled. 

“I have yet to see this,” you pointed out.

He considered this for a moment. 

“Maybe I’ve yet to be one with you,” he shrugged. 

“Maybe you aren’t one anymore,” you offered. Then, making a face, you added, “Or at least slightly less of one.”

He laughed and shook his head. He still looked at you with no small amount of wonder in his eyes. You hoped that this helped him. Maybe if he saw what you saw, that he was so special, so talented, so kind, he would finally understand, he would finally believe you.

Feeling drained, you took the rest of the day to be lazy with him. You napped and ate food, watched a little TV. The week went on similarly, when he wasn’t out on an emergency, he was teaching you everything he could think of to help you should you need it. You continued to grow stronger, your endurance building quickly. He continued to be amazed with your speed and asked you more than once if there was any way you were related to Merlin or some of the other greats.

After your sessions, you’d spend time recovering in bed, which often turned into other activities. 

After an intense two weeks of training, you found him over a map one morning. 

“Whatcha doing?” you asked, sliding your hands around his waist and hugging him as you looked around at the map on the table. 

It was a map of the world with what looked like drops of blood on it.

“You got a bloody nose or something?” you asked, looking at him. He looked fine.

“No, luv,” he chuckled. “This is my scrying map. An old friend left it to me before she left. Usually whatever drop of blood is wet means there’s something bad going down.”

“Oh,” you blushed. “So something bad’s going down in Connecticut?”

He pressed his lips together and nodded. 

“Would seem that way,” he agreed.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

 


	13. Chapter 13

“ _ We _ are not waiting for anything,” Constantine laughed. “Me and Chas will take care of it.”

“Will we now?” Chas asked, making his way down the stairs.

You greeted him with a hug and followed him back over to the map. 

“I’ve been looking into it,” Chas said. “Two men have been found dead in their beds in the past week.”

“They make a good burger up there,” Constantine shrugged. “Maybe they had shit hearts.”

“They both died with, erm,” he looked down and then back up. “Erections. And there was sulfur found around their beds.”

“Odd,” Constantine agreed. “Sulfur’s usually a demon’s calling card.”

“The women have been cleared of suspicion by police, they both have alibis.”

“What are they?”

“Both couples apparently were having relationship problems. They’ve been meeting up to talk about them at another friend’s house a few nights a week. Guess they stayed past the time their husbands died. Plenty of witnesses.”

Constantine nodded slowly. 

“Right, well, sounds like a job,” he said, looking at Chas.

“I don’t think I’m the right partner for this,” Chas shook his head. “I think you’ll need her. The wives must know something, and you’re not one to fit in at a dinner party alone, let alone with me.”

Chas was smiling at you, and you felt rather excited that he had some faith in you. 

“We can go undercover,” you offered. “Maybe there’s a house we can rent nearby. I can sneak into their circle, learn what they know.”

You opened your phone and did a quick search. 

“There’s a house right down the street we can rent,” you showed him. 

It was a nice house, too. Seemed like the kind of place they’d show in an ad about the American Dream. 

“I don’t know,” he bit his lip in worry. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

You rolled your eyes and used your magic to levitate a glass and then chuck it across the room into the kitchen where it shattered. Then you levitated the broken glass and emptied it into the trash can. You wiped your hands and gave him a look. 

“Alright,” he nodded. 

“Pack some cardigans,” you smirked. 

You’d been unconscious the last time Chas had driven you through a portal, but this time you got to see it in all its glory. Constantine conjured a window to another state, and Chas drove through it as if over a bridge. You went from warm, sunny, Georgia, to cold, snowy Connecticut. Chas wound the cab up a ton of suburban streets with nearly identical houses until you got to the street of your temporary residence.

Chas pulled into the long driveway of the two story house. It was easily 4,000 square feet, with a two car garage and a huge lawn. You got out and gaped openly at it. You never thought you’d get to stay at a place like this, even temporarily. 

You’d bought a few more clothes for each of you to better fit in with the community you were trying to infiltrate. You couldn’t get enough of Constantine in his teal sweater and pink pants. You unloaded your stuff from the cab and got inside before you could freeze to death. The house was cold, but you used your magic to strike up a fire in the fireplace, and sat down beside it. Constantine followed you, and you couldn’t help but laugh at how uncomfortable he looked in those clothes.

“So what’s the plan?” you asked. 

“Find a way to make nice with the neighbors, get invited over, interrogate them,” he said. 

“What do you think this thing is?” you asked. 

“Nothing good,” he answered, staring into the fire. “Could be a lot of things. Demons are more diverse than some plant species,” he smiled grimly. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. It was getting late, and you wondered what someone would want at your door at this time. 

You left Constantine by the fire, and looked through the peephole. There was a man and a woman waiting patiently outside, both wearing what looked like quite expensive winter wear. 

You opened the door hesitantly, and saw that the woman was holding a plate of cookies. 

“Hi,” the woman said warmly. She had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. “We’re the Williams’, I’m Shelly, and this is my husband Rick. We heard there was someone new moving in today, and we wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

Her smile seemed genuine, and Rick seemed just as eager to please. You took the plate of cookies that was handed to you.

You felt Constantine come up behind you, his hand firm on your hip. 

“Thank you. We just got here,” you laughed. “What a prompt welcoming committee.”

“Well, we make it our business to make people feel welcome,” Rick nodded. 

“I’m (Y/N),” you said, balancing the plate with one hand to shake theirs. “And this is--”

“I’m her husband, John,” Constantine said, reaching around you to shake their hands.

Your face must have shown some kind of shock because Rick asked, “Are you cold? Sorry we’re letting all the heat out of your house.”

You managed to recover, and laughed it off. 

“Why don’t you come in for a second,” you offered. 

“What a lovely place,” Shelly marveled. “I haven’t seen it since the owners revamped it.”

“Yeah, it’s nice,” you agreed. “We just moved up from the south, though, so it’ll take a little getting used to being in this weather.”

“If you ever need help with the driveway, I got the biggest snowblower on the block,” Rick offered.

You could feel Constantine nearly screaming from the inside and chuckled. This was the exact opposite of his life, and you couldn’t begin to imagine what he was thinking about this couple.

“You know, why don’t you guys come over for dinner tomorrow night? Rick makes a mean steak,” Shelly offered. 

“Guilty!” Rick laughed. 

You shared a look with Constantine while trying to maintain your composure. 

“That would be amazing,” you nodded. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh anytime. We’re just two houses down, number 43,” Shelly said, grabbing Rick’s hand and leading him to the door. “Well, we’ll let you get settled in and see you around six tomorrow,” she said. “Have a good first night!”

“Thanks,” you waved as they left the house. 

Alone again, you turned to Constantine and laughed. 

“Did they come out of a catalogue?” he asked. 

“Maybe the demons are trying a ‘kill ‘em with kindness’ method,” you jested.

“Not gonna say no to free steak, though, eh?” he winked. He glanced upstairs and licked his lips. “What do you say we try out the new mattress?”

He flicked his hand towards the fire and it died out. You giggled, but as you were towed by the hand upstairs, you couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d called you. Would Constantine actually get married one day? To you? The thought seemed ludicrous and mundane at the same time. You were distracted as he stripped himself naked and flopped on the bed, waiting for you. 

“Shall we christen this mattress in the name of defeating evil?” he asked. 

“Still wish you brought Chas?” you teased, taking your clothes off slowly. You watched his eyes glaze over with desire, and he shook his head absently. 

“Definitely not, bit.”

You moved on him predatorially, lips devouring his, hands finding all the right places on his body. You gave the mattress a good breaking in, and by the end, you needed to cool down, rather than sit by a fire. It was so domestic, laying with him in bed as he stroked your hair, snow sitting quietly outside the window. It felt so foreign, and yet familiar. You realized it didn’t matter where you were or what the circumstances as long as you could lay with him, be with him.

In the morning, you took a walk around the neighborhood, hoping to run into some other neighbors, specifically, the recent widows. You didn’t have any luck, however, as it was freezing outside. 

You spent the day researching possibilities, but without more information, you didn’t get too far. When it was time for dinner, you tried your best to look like a real adult that could afford to live in this house. You donned one of the new dressed you bought with a nice flowing skirt and fitted top. You kept the quartz necklace on as always, a reminder that even if you defeated the evil that lurked here, there was a far greater one waiting for you somewhere.

Constantine’s skin seemed to be crawling as he put on a collared shirt and sweater with slacks. He squirmed, trying to pull the shirt around and make it more comfortable. You ran your hands along his arms to calm him. 

“Relax,” you laughed. “One night without your beloved shirt and tie combo won’t be the death of you.”

You took the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbed it out. 

“No smoking,” you warned. “I get the feeling these are people who eat and breathe kale. We need them to like us.”

He frowned but nodded. 

“You look stunning, as always,” he said, running his hand long your chest and down your side. 

“I make a good housewife,” you teased. 

He smiled, but it seemed to be tinged with sadness for some reason. 

“Well then,” he said, snapping out of it. “Let’s go give the Williams’ one hell of an interrogation.”

You shook your head and laughed, grabbing his hand and leading him downstairs. You bundled up and grabbed the wine you’d bought as a party gift. Knocking on their door, you and Constantine donned your fake smiles. They answered promptly and led you into their home. It looked like a Better Homes catalogue, and you wondered how much the art had cost. There were expensive statues and vases everywhere, and all the floors were hardwood covered with rich, detailed rugs. After leaving your shoes by the door, you followed them into the kitchen which smelled incredible. Soft jazz was playing from an entertainment center in the living room, making a really cozy setting. 

“You are too kind bringing this,” Shelly smiled, opening the wine and pouring four glasses. Constantine pushed his over to you. 

“No thanks, luv, I’m more of a hard liquor kind of guy.”

“Say no more!” Rick said, going into the fridge and pulling out some bourbon. “Man after my own heart.”

Constantine managed a surprised smile, and took the glass Rick poured him. 

“To new friends,” Shelly said. You clinked glasses and took a sip.

“Hey, John, got any interest in antique weapons?” Rick asked. 

You shared a look with Constantine. He was clearly trying to have a manly time here, and leave you two to talk about whatever you would. Was it the fifties, you wondered? Regardless, the look you shared settled that you both agreed it would be best. Shelly would feel more comfortable talking with you alone. 

“Right up my ally,” Constantine said. 

“Well, come this way,” Rick offered. 

Constantine gave you a quick kiss before following Rick down the hallway and out of sight. You watched him go, missing him as soon as he left. When you turned your attention back to Shelly, she was smiling at you. 

“What?” you laughed. 

“You haven’t been married long, have you?” she asked. 

Well, you weren’t married at all, you thought. But regardless, your relationship was new, she wasn’t wrong there.

“No,” you answered. “How can you tell?”

“Because you still miss him when he’s just a few feet away,” she sighed. “I remember that time.”

You realized this was your in. You could befriend her, get her to invite you to those nights the women were at when their husbands died. Maybe learn something.

“You two seem pretty happy,” you offered. 

“We are,” she agreed. “But there’s nothing like that honeymoon period.”

You thought back to the summoning of the demon and wondered what she would make of that as a honeymoon.

“I mean I’m happy,” you said carefully. “But… sometimes, I don’t know,” you feigned trouble. 

“What is it?” she asked, leaning on the kitchen island. 

You had to think of something fast, something believable that would get you into that group. You were having trouble thinking of something, so you tried to look worriedly at the granite countertop. 

“Do you think he’s cheating on you?” she whispered. Your eyes shot up with what you hoped looked less like surprise, and more like agreement.

“Do you feel like that with Rick too?” you tried. 

She nodded. 

“Not all the time… and I know he loves me… But sometimes he says he’s working late when I know he’s not, you know?”

“Mm,” you said, trying to figure out a way to relate to this. You’d seen Constantine take a magical truth serum and tell you he’d never do that to you.

“You know, we have this group, it’s like a women’s circle, if you’re interested,” she offered.

You sighed with relief, it was easier than you’d thought.    
“That’d be amazing,” you smiled. 

“We basically get wine drunk and bitch about our spouses,” she smirked. “We’re going to Katie’s house tomorrow if you want to join.”

“That sounds like a dream,” you said. You clinked glasses and took a big drink. So far so good.

You heard the men coming up from down the hall laughing together. They entered with big grins on their faces, which Constantine immediately dropped as soon as you were the only one looking at him. You laid your hands on his chest to calm him and he took a deep breath. 

“Dinner is served,” Rick said, grabbing a bunch of plates and filling them up with delicious smelling foods. 

You all made your way to their elegant dinner table in the adjoining room, and you made sure Constantine folded his napkin on his lap. 

“So, how’d you two meet?” Shelly asked. 

You shared a look with Constantine and smirked, giving him the go to make something up.

“She was the prettiest golfer on the, erm, country club lot,” he said. “I just had to say something when I was out there on that, umm, green,” he finished, somewhat convincingly. 

“You play?” Rick asked. 

“Do I?” Constantine laughed. 

“What country club?”

“Oh, one down south you’ve never heard of,” he shrugged. “Bit of a rubbish heap if I’m being honest. Nothing like what you’ve got up here.”

“And where are you from originally?” Shelly asked. “Your accent is lovely.”

“Sure helped win this one over,” he winked at you. You knew he was kidding, but he wasn’t actually wrong. “Liverpool, London raised though.”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to visit,” Shelly said. 

They were truly actually nice people, you realized. They were genuinely interested in your lives, and what you were feeling. You almost felt badly lying to them, but you were actually trying to save their lives. 

You reciprocated by asking them how they’d met which launched into a whole discussion and story about how they then went to France and how he’d proposed. 

“And how did you propose?” Rick asked Constantine. 

“Ah,” Constantine rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it is quite the story. We were stuck in a downpour in New York City,” he said. You listened intently, wondering what he would have thought would be an appropriate proposal for these characters you were playing. “We’d just been shopping in that posh district?”

“Sax fifth avenue?” Shelly tried.

“Bang on,” Constantine winked. “And the skies just opened up. People ran for cover, I mean it was coming down, but we didn’t. We were both of us, just looking around the streets, watching the rain, feeling it on our skin,” he said, seemingly lost in this imaginary memory. “And I knew then, looking at her, soaking wet, and smiling, that we were the same. That we both saw the beauty in things that other people couldn’t, that other people ran from. Specifically that she could see that in me,” he said, now looking at you intently. “And I said, this is the one. This is who I need to spend the rest of my life with.”

You swallowed hard, trying not to look like this was the first time you’d heard this story or this declaration.

“And I got down on one knee, didn’t have a ring or anything,” he laughed. “Just got down on my knee in a puddle and asked her.”

“And I said yes,” you filled in the rest. 

“Oh wow,” Shelley smiled and put her hand to her chest. “So romantic.”

“It’s no France,” you joked. 

You spent the rest of the evening have a nice time, surprisingly. Constantine still looked uncomfortable in his clothes, but he was at least giving them half genuine smiles. He only fingered the cigarettes in his pocket ten times an hour, which was an improvement for him. When you’d filled yourselves with Shelly’s amazing chocolate cake, you made your excuses and went home.

“I got invited to the ladies night,” you informed Constantine as soon as you were out of their house. 

“Well done, luv,” he smiled proudly. “Rick gave me nothing. He’s about as observant as a rock. Looked like he might fall asleep half the time.”

“Shelly doesn’t know anything, I don’t think, but the women in the circle definitely will.”

“My little Sherlock,” he smirked at you. 

You got home and took a shower, blow drying your hair as Constantine read a book in bed. You joined him, snuggling up onto his chest. He sighed, and you felt your bond tugging at your heart. You felt sad, almost guilty. You sat up and looked at him. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. 

He pressed his lips together for a moment, gathering his thoughts. 

“You know I can never give you this life, right?” he asked. “I can never give you  _ this _ ,” he gestured around.

“I didn’t ask you to,” you shook your head. “I don’t want this.”

“But you will,” he said solemnly. “And it’s not like this job has a retirement age.”

“I won’t,” you promised. “It’s fun playing house, I’ll admit it. But this isn’t us. This certainly isn’t you.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’ve stolen you away from a life you were supposed to have,” he admitted. 

“What was I supposed to have?” you asked. 

“I don’t know… Some bloke proposing to you in the pouring rain?” he managed a smile. 

You rolled your eyes. 

“I’d rather take a staircase throwing me off it to land on you,” you smirked. “Hands down, any day.”

He searched your eyes for a lie but came up empty. 

“I don’t know why you mean that,” Constantine sighed, “But you do.”

“I do,” you nodded, shifting down to snuggle onto his chest again. His hands wrapped themselves familiarly into your hair. “I really do.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

You didn’t know quite how to prepare yourself for this solo mission. It wasn’t like you were going into a lion’s den, kind of the opposite, really. You were going to a posh house to drink wine with a lot of nice women. You did what you usually did to get ready, which wasn’t much more than some light makeup and a quick once over in the mirror. Constantine seemed to have more trouble with it, pacing around the bedroom as he waited for you.

“I’ll be fine,” you said. 

“We don’t know what this thing is,” he reminded you. “It could be in one of them for all we know.”

“So far it’s only attacked men,” you reminded him. “If anything, I should be scared that you’re going to be home alone.”

“Let me at least walk you to the door,” he nearly begged. “I’m already gonna go nuts in this big house without you for the night.”

“It’s not the whole night,” you promised. “Just enough time till I get some useful information.”

He bit his nail nervously, and you saw it was bleeding because of the intense attention. You frowned and stood up, walking over to him and taking his hand away from his mouth. 

“It’ll be fine,” you promised. 

He sighed and shook his arms as if to let out a little stress. He lit a cigarette and followed you downstairs where you grabbed your coats and made to walk down the street together. He held your gloved hand in his tightly, scanning the streets for anything treacherous. As you just made it to the hostess’ driveway, it started to snow, and you stopped, looking up at the sky. You stuck your tongue out to catch a flake. 

Smiling, you looked at him. The snow was falling onto his head and shoulders, a few even dissolved on his eyelashes. He looked positively ethereal. You stretched up onto your tiptoes and kissed him. It seemed a perfect moment, but it ended as you heard the door to the house squeak open. 

“Come on it,” Shelly beckoned. “You’ll catch your death.” 

Another woman poked her head out from behind Shelly and saw Constantine with you.    
“Oh, bring in the husband,” she offered. “We haven’t met him yet.”

“You’ve brought a lamb to the slaughter, luv,” he whispered. 

He dropped the cigarette and stubbed it out on the snow, at which both women frowned. Nonetheless, they continued to motion for you both to come inside for a moment. 

This house was similar to Shelly’s in its elegance and magazine-like aesthetic. Five women looked at the two of you expectantly. The blonde, who’d offered for Constantine to come in, spoke first. 

“Welcome to my house,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Katie. You know Shelly, that’s Patricia, Joslin, and Wanda.”

“John,” Constantine held out his hand. His other was wrapped firmly around your waist.

“Lovely to meet you John,” Katie said. 

You introduced yourself, and waited for Constantine to get the hint and leave. They’d only wanted to meet him, not invite him in to stay. You could tell he still didn’t want to leave you alone.

“Well, thanks for walking me over,  _ sweetheart,”  _ you teased. “But I think the girls will take it from here.”

“Right,” he answered, clearing his throat. “Just, erm, call me if you need anything.”

You gave him a knowing look and nodded. 

“See you later,” you said, giving him a quick kiss.

You had to nearly push him out the door before he left. Once you were alone with the women, they seemed to relax. Katie put a glass of wine into your hand before you even asked, and you followed them into the living room. They all sat in spots that seemed like they’d done this a thousand times, and you just took the last spot on the end of the L shaped couch. 

“Your husband is something,” Katie smiled. “Quite handsome, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Thanks,” you laughed. “Yeah, not sure how I pulled that one off.”

“You’re a stunner, don’t sell yourself short,” Shelly smiled. 

“I thought Keith was out of my league when we first met,” Wanda noted. You knew from your research that Keith was one of the victims, but you didn’t want to push it. “My husband… died recently,” she explained to you. 

“Oh my gosh,” you feigned ignorance. “I’m so sorry. Was he ill, or...”

“Looking back, I think he might have been,” she lamented. “He was so handsome, just like yours, all blonde hair and bright eyes. The doctor’s said it was natural causes but… a week or so before, it just felt like the life was being drained from him, you know? Oh I’m probably just projecting. You ladies know how it was at the end for our marriage,” she said, looking at the other women who nodded agreeingly. 

“You know, I heard Becky saying the same thing before Tom died,” Katie mentioned. “I wonder if it’s something in the water.”

“Maybe it was something in that whore’s water,” Wanda spat, and then started crying softly. “I’m sorry,” she wept. “I’m sorry.”

“We think Keith was cheating on her,” Shelly explained. 

“I thought Tom was too,” Wanda added through her sniffles. “We didn’t have the perfect marriage, but we would have worked on it.”

This gave you pause. Both men had been seemingly drained of life in the week leading up to their deaths, and both were presumed adulterers. 

“You know Rick hasn’t been himself lately either,” Shelly mentioned. “Seems tired most of the time.”

“You think he’s got one foot out the door too?” Joslin asked. 

“I don’t know,” Shelly admitted. “Sometimes. You feel like that too, don't you?” she turned to you. 

“Oh,” you muttered, forgetting that was your cover for being here. “Sure, sometimes.”

“Have you confronted him?” Katie asked. 

“No,” you laughed. “I’m… scared,” you said, hopefully convincingly.

“Yeah, the not knowing is bad, but knowing is worse,” Katie agreed. “For what it’s worth, I feel like he only has eyes for you. You had to basically push him out that door.”

You laughed and nodded. 

“Yeah, he does seem rather attached sometimes.”

“It’s always like that in the beginning,” Joslin nodded, frowning.

You wondered how all of these women could be so sad and insecure in their relationships. Was this what yours was like last time? Yes, you realized. With your old boyfriend it was exactly like this. You thanked the stars for your luck this time around.

The night went on without any further information gathered on your end, other than how many vacation homes these women owned. When you’d stayed late enough not to gather suspicion, you made your goodbyes and exited the house. To your surprise, Constantine was standing at the end of the driveway. You gave him a look. When you got closer you could see that he was freezing cold.

“Were you standing outside the window or something the whole time?” you guessed.

“Wanted to make sure you were safe,” he shrugged, stubbing out what was left of his cigarette. “Did you really have to tell them you thought I might be cheating on you?” he asked. 

You started walking back home, holding hands. 

“Yeah,” you said. “They all think that, that’s why they meet up, to talk about it. And I think that might be how demon thing is choosing its victims. Each man apparently looked like he was slowly losing life, like something was draining his energy before he died. They thought it was just a mistress, but it might be something else.”

“A succubus,” Constantine said, with a little proud smirk on his face. “You did good.”

“A succubus?” you repeated.

You entered your house and immediately started a fire with your magic. You both took off your coats and went to sit by it.

“They’re demons that come into dreams and seduce men. It can take weeks sometimes to drain the life out of them. She’s probably praying on the ones who have a predilection to cheat,” he shrugged. “Makes it easier to drain more life out of willing participants.”

“How do we kill it?” you asked. 

“We can summon it and banish to hell,” he smiled happily. “Easy peasy.”

“Shelly said Rick was seeming drained lately,” you noted. “Might be easiest to summon it when he’s sleeping.”

“You are a great interrogator,” Constantine smiled, kissing you beside the fireplace. “We can do it tomorrow night once we gather a few materials in the morning.”

He kissed you, pushing you onto your back. He lingered just above you, breaking the kiss to look lovingly at you. 

“I know I can’t give you this life,” he said quietly. “But I can try and make you happy.”

You brushed your fingers along his jawline and pulled him gently to you for another kiss.

“I am,” you promised. 

He smiled, and it turned wicked as he started snaking down towards your belly button. He dipped lower, sliding off your panties under your dress, doing just as he had promised a moment ago.

 


	15. Chapter 15

In the morning, you gathered your supplies and set up a plan. You were going to summon the succubus and John would open a portal to Hell. It sounded easy, and you were worried it was too easy. There’d been consequences last time you’d summoned and sent a demon to hell. True, you weren’t going to bargain with this one, but so far your track record in general wasn’t great, and it didn’t give you too much confidence.

Once you were ready, you didn’t waste any time. You didn’t want to wait, lest Rick or anyone else fell prey to the thing. Constantine cleared an area in the living room, moving the carpet and drawing on the floor with chalk. He surrounded the circle he’d made with candles, and you watched as the wax started to drip down onto the floor. 

“Ready, luv?” he asked, a cocky smile on his face.

“Ready,” you smiled, trying to match his enthusiasm.

He closed his eyes and started chanting. It wasn’t dissimilar to the feelings you got as the ancient demon had been summoned, but there was a distinct difference. It felt warm, almost inviting. Impossible winds seemed to caress you rather than beat against you, and before long, you saw a ravishing woman standing in the center of the circle. 

“You rang?” it asked in a sultry tone.

You glanced at Constantine who’s expression hadn’t shifted from his arrogant smile.

“Right, good to see ya, have fun in hell,” Constantine said swiftly, starting the spell to open the portal. 

“So soon?” it asked, slipping its dress off one shoulder. “But I just got here.”

“Well, you’ve seen the sights, time to go,” he said.

Its face contorted, anger and annoyance filling the once beautiful features.

“Why are you not affected by me?” it asked. You saw its image shift and it became a man of equal beauty. “Maybe you like me?” it asked. 

“You both are the same demon,” he rolled his eyes.

“This has never happened…”

The demon’s eyes shifted to you. Constantine started the spell again, but the demon forced its hand forward, pushing an invisible force at Constantine and knocking him back against the wall. You ran to him as he lay crumpled on the floor, and gingerly held his head in your hands. He was still breathing, only knocked out. You turned angrily to the demon. 

“Alright, I used to say this without this much meaning, but you can truly go to hell,” you spat. 

“Why didn’t my charms work on him?” it asked you, as if you’d know the answer. “Perhaps they’ll work on you?”

The demon concentrated on you, but you didn’t feel anything. 

“Am I supposed to be in love with you now or something?” you asked. 

“My powers have never not worked on a human,” it said angrily. 

“Well, there’s a first for everything,” you shrugged. “Including this.”

You’d never done it before, but you’d read about it and seen Constantine do it once. So you tried. You said the words and moved your hands. As you did, you felt energy draining out of you from the heat you were pushing out of your body and into this portal. It appeared, small at first, and then growing. The demon tried to back away, but he was stuck in the circle Constantine had created. You pushed, using the last of your energy to wrap the portal around the demon. Once you saw it was gone, you collapsed to the floor and passed out.

“Luv, luv,” you heard a desperate voice. 

You woke, realizing you were no longer on the floor, but rather the couch. Constantine’s face was close to yours, worriedly staring down at you.

“Hi,” you smiled. 

He sighed and sat back, giving you room to sit up. You felt tired, like you’d run for three hours straight.

“How’s your head?” you asked urgently. It was just starting to come back to you, what had happened.

“I’m fine,” he shook his head disbelievingly. “You’re the one who nearly drained yourself to death.”

“I’m also fine,” you assured him, but you weren’t about to try to tapdance to prove it.

“I can’t believe you did that by yourself,” he mused, staring at you proudly. “Took me ages.”

“Well, I think we’ve established, I’m far more talented than you,” you smirked, teasing him.

“You’re not wrong there, luv, I’m not ashamed of it.”

You furrowed your brows, thinking back to what the demon had said. 

“Why don’t you think its charms worked on us?” you asked him. “It seemed genuinely confused.”

“I should think it should be,” he nodded. “That makes two of us that have never seen a succubus’ charms not work. They’re basically sirens.”

You pressed your lips together in thought. 

“Maybe it was weak, I mean it was only going after people who weren’t faithful.”

He shook his head slowly.    
“I don’t think that’s it, luv.” He shifted closer to you, holding your cheek in his hand. You nuzzled against him. “I don’t think we could feel it because of this thing between us. Too strong.”

You felt your heart flutter in your chest with the look he was giving you right now.

You looked around the house for a moment, realizing the reason you’d come here was now gone, you could go back home. 

“Do you think we could stay here, just one more night?” you asked. “We can get take out and get drunk watching trash TV?”

He smiled warmly and nodded. 

“I think a night in for the Constantine’s is just what the doctor ordered,” he said, kissing the top of your head as he got up. “I’ll go order us some dinner and pour us a drink.”

You smiled lazily as he got up and nestled into the couch, falling asleep again easily. When you woke, it was to the smell of pizza. You were now in bed upstairs, and there was a giant box sitting between you and Constantine. 

He was already munching away on a slice, the TV on in the background. He looked at you when you woke up with a guilty expression. 

“Sorry, pet,” he laughed. “Didn’t want to wake you, but it was getting cold.”

You smiled and took a slice, happy to eat in bed. You were slightly more awake now after your power nap, and you saw that some horrible reality show was playing on the TV. After you’d finished the pizza, you snuggled up close to him, laughing and making jokes at the terrible show.

You knew this wouldn’t be your life with him, and you didn’t mind. One night of an anomaly was alright with you. Because it didn’t matter what house you lived in, or what you did to relax, as long as you were together. 

And when Chas picked you up in the morning, you watched as the shiny neighborhood faded away, and the familiar house came back into view. You’d left a note for Shelly in her mailbox thanking her for her kindness and wishing her the best. You made up some excuse about getting a new job far away and having to move again, though the thought was ridiculous at best. You hoped their little neighborhood would be safe, at least for the time being.

You settled back into Constantine’s house easily, finding familiar surroundings comforting.

After leaving him quite satiated in bed one night, you slipped on your bra and panties again and headed into the kitchen to grab a little midnight snack. As you closed the fridge door, you heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

You turned around, and rolled your eyes. 

“Why am I never clothed when you guys drop by?” you asked.

The Legends were standing in your kitchen.

 


	16. Chapter 16

“I don’t mind it,” Sara smirked. 

You heard Constantine walking in from the bedroom. He hadn’t bothered to put on any clothes, and neither did he seem to care about it when he saw the Legends. You were at least stood behind the counter to give you a little cover.

“Oi, who let you just come into my house?” he asked. 

“You,” Sara laughed, hoisting a key. “Margarita night six months ago.”

“I need to stop drinking tequila,” he grimaced and rubbed his eye while walking over to stand behind you. 

Ray was shielding his eyes from Constantine’s naked body, but Sara and Mick seemed unphased. You doubted this was the first or the last time they’d see him naked.

“Can you put on some clothes, please?” Ray asked. 

“Ay, you come into my house, you deal with what you get.”

Ray’s eyes glanced over you as he tried his best to look at Constantine. You could feel it, through your bond, the possessive feelings he held towards you. He didn’t like that anyone else got to see you in so few clothes. He pressed up against you from behind and wrapped his arms around your waist. 

“Why’re you here anyway?” he asked. “Did you lose your beer opener?” he asked Mick. 

Mick grunted in response and Sara took the lead in explaining. 

“We got a high level magical disturbance,” she said. “A few years ahead of us, but big enough that we need your help.”

“What kind of magical disturbance?” he asked. 

“Dunno,” Sara admitted. “Looks pretty powerful though.”

You heard Constantine grumble, as if being made to go to school on the weekend.

“Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll get my coat.”

“Same,” you said.

You waited for Constantine to fight you on this, but he didn’t. He just looked at you adoringly and smiled slightly.

“We’ll be right back,” you offered, leading Constantine back to your room to get changed. When you were nearly to the door you added, “Ray, he’s gone you can unshield your eyes.”

Ray sighed happily and thanked you. 

You both got dressed quickly.

“You’ll be careful, yeah?” he asked, pulling his tie up but keeping it loose. “Stay close to me?”

“Always,” you promised. 

You followed the Legends outside and walked a similar trail as you had last time to get to their ship. They’d parked closer, but the clearing in the woods was still at least a five minute walk. Mick led the way, with Sara and Constantine talking about potential battle tactics to deal with whatever monster it was. This left you and Ray in the back. You found his presence quite calming. He seemed like a labrador in his demeanor, and you admired him for it. You weren’t sure what he’d been through with the Legends, but you were sure it wasn’t all roses and he didn’t seem jaded for it.

“Must be nice,” Ray said conversationally, looking between you and Constantine. “To be so comfortable with someone.”

“Oh,” you blushed. “Yeah, sorry you had to see that level of comfort.”

He laughed. 

“We invaded your home,” he admitted. “Fair’s fair.”

“I’m glad you did,” you smiled. “It’s good to see you guys again. Even if the circumstances are a bit treacherous.”

“Still, having someone you love along makes it easier,” he said. 

There was that word again. 

“I feel like it’s too early to be saying stuff like that,” you muttered. 

You saw Ray as a confidant, someone who’d been in a similar situation as you. You couldn’t help but convey what was on your mind.

“Love?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you muttered. “It’s only been a few weeks if that.”

“Oh no,” he shook his head. “Time doesn’t work like that with the Salvator Ponetur Vinculum,” Ray explained. “At least, not with what I’ve read… and felt.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. 

“Well, the writing seems to indicate that time moves faster. Like if you’re with someone for a week in that bond, it’d be the equivalent to being with someone for about a month and a half without it.”

“Oh,” you muttered. “So I’m not crazy?” 

He laughed and shook his head. 

“I know, I thought it was just infatuation, just extreme attraction, but it’s not. It’s more.”

You ruminated on this, feeling somehow validated. Still, you hadn’t said those words to him yet. After seeing the way he saw you in his mind, you were sure he felt the same as you. Only, you weren’t sure. Despite your bond, despite every time he’d said something that matched your own feelings, you just couldn’t be sure. It was a nagging insecurity you’d accumulated from years of giving too much and not receiving anything. You fingered your necklace in thought. 

If you’d learned anything from him, from magic, it was that spoken words held true power. You might feel things, feel your bond, but it was another thing to hear the words.

You knew that Constantine felt this thing between you, knew that he wanted to be with you, but how deep did that go? You weren’t the only one scorned by love in the past, you were sure. If you told him you loved him, would it scare him off? He’d sort of joked about being married, and spending the rest of your lives together, but could he have meant it?

“How do you know?” you asked Ray. “How do you know they feel the same?”

“I don’t know,” he smiled. “I suppose you just have to say it and hope for the best.”

“You always hope for the best, don’t you?” you asked. 

“Sure do,” he smiled.

“Oi, what are you two smiling about?” Constantine asked, slowing his pace to let you catch up with him. He grabbed your hand, interlacing your fingers.

“Just Ray being a ray of sunshine,” you laughed. 

Constantine narrowed his eyes slightly and you felt that pull of possession once more. While you liked Ray, there was no way in hell you’d ever feel anything for him close to the feelings that you had for Constantine. You weren’t sure Constantine knew that, though, by the way his grip tightened on your hand slightly. Was that why he was so possessive, you wondered? Was that what he so desperately wanted to protect? The woman he loved?

You reached the ship quickly after that, and boarded. The sight was no less overwhelming than the last time you’d been there, and you had to remember to keep your mouth closed rather than gape. Constantine seemed rather at home, and you wondered how many times he’d been here with them. He didn’t let go of your hand as you all gathered around the center console. You did your best not to freak out as a large hologram of a feminine head appeared. 

“Hello again,” she greeted. It was the sound of the AI you’d heard, this must be her visual form, you noted. 

“Gideon, we got Constantine and his plus one. Chart a course for that magic spike,” Sara commanded.

“Right away captain,” the head nodded. 

“Buckle up, kids,” Sara said, motioning to the seats beside the console. Constantine had to let go of you for this, and you strapped yourself in carefully, trying to remain calm before your first time travel adventure. You snuck an excited look at Ray who looked just as thrilled for you. 

The ship took off as Sara pressed a few buttons on her console. You felt every organ in your body shift as if pushed back and upwards, though nothing seemed to move in the cabin at all. Your head spun, and right as you thought you might throw up, everything stopped. When you opened your eyes, you realized everyone was staring at you. 

“Alright, luv?” Constantine asked, giving you a hand to stand up. 

“Yeah,” you nodded, not quite sure if that was true. 

You got up, but immediately stumbled. Constantine caught you and held you against him. 

“I’m good,” you promised after a moment. You stood steadily on your feet beside him. 

“Not bad for a first timer,” Sara nodded approvingly. “We know it’s in a school, but we don’t know where. We’re going undercover. (Y/N), Ray, and I will go as alumni looking for a tour to influence our decisions to donate. Constantine and Mick, you two go through the basements, look in the kitchens, the bathrooms, anything not in the public eye. Talk to the staff, the guys that have been around and seen some shit.”

“Don’t think so, luv,” Constantine said, slipping his arm around your waist. “We stay together.”

“We need her with us,” Sara shook her head. “Three alumni giving money is more than two. Means they’ll try to impress us more, show us more stuff. I’d have swapped you with Ray but...”

“Yeah yeah,” Constantine dismissed her.

You gave him a reassuring pat on the chest, and followed Sara to the room where you’d eaten lunch with them. They gave you some clothes to look like a rich alumnus, and you returned to the main room. 

“Do we look like rich graduates?” you asked, giving him a spin.    
It brought half a smile to his face and he nodded. 

“Sure do, luv,” he said. There was a tinge of sadness to his voice. 

“I’ll be fine,” you whispered away from the others. “I got good back up.”

“So do they,” he said, kissing the top of your head. 

“Alright, let’s move out,” Sara said, pointing to the door.

You followed her outside, and after a quick kiss goodbye to Constantine, that he tried desperately to elongate, you followed her and Ray to the front entrance of the school. Not much had changed only ten years into the future, and you were a little disappointed. 

Sara put on her best fake smile and greeted the slender older man who stood at the entrance, apparently expecting you. She introduced all of you to the man, Mr. Dorian as he explained, and you followed him inside. 

You couldn’t help but wonder where Constantine was in the school. Was he as distracted as you were on this mission? You tried to focus on what Mr. Dorian was saying, but frankly, it was boring. He was describing all the courses they offered, the school policies and the new books they’d be getting. Ray seemed enthralled, but you and Sara shared a look that made you almost laugh out loud.

You followed the man everywhere, down many hallways, dipping into many a room, but you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. You wondered if their magic detector needed fixing. Nothing felt strange to you, nothing looked wrong. Maybe the guys were having a better time of it in the nooks and crannies. 

You finally ended the tour in the cafeteria, where a lunch session was just letting out. A couple kids filed out at a time, and you let them run past you while Mr. Dorian explained the lunch programs. As the final child left, Mr. Dorian looked at you and tilted his head to the side. 

“Um, ma’am, I don’t know if I’m just seeing things, but your necklace is, um, glowing.”

 


	17. Chapter 17

You blinked, looking down at the stone around your neck. Your heart dropped to the floor and you pulse skyrocketed. In your panic, your eyes darted around you, landing on the small child in the middle of the cafeteria.

Standing on the old wood floors in the center of the room was a girl who was seemingly the picture of innocence. She had dark ebony skin with bright eyes and pigtails. She wore a dress with two little front pockets and white stockings with black shoes. But her eyes weren’t quite right. As they grew brighter you noticed they were red. 

“Ma’am, why is your necklace glowing?” Mr. Dorian asked. 

“Get out,” you said.

Apparently your tone was so intimidating, he needed no further reason. He walked swiftly out of the cafe, possibly in search of someone who would detain you for the crazy look in your eye.

“What is it?” Sara asked, not taking her eyes off the little girl.

“It’s the demon that attacked me. The one Constantine saved me from.”

The little girl laughed, though her voice was too deep, and it echoed. 

“And here I thought I was going to get to track you down,” it delighted. “But I get my food delivered now, I see.”

Your necklace was going crazy now, as the girl took a few steps forward. She tilted her head to the side and smiled.

“Guys, cafeteria, now,” Sara said onto her comm. She tapped her ear. “Guys?”

“What should I do to this little girl?” it asked. “Should I break her legs? Should I gouge her eyes out?”   
The thing made the girl smile wickedly, and you wanted to close your eyes, but you couldn’t. You had to help her. 

“JOHN!” Sara yelled into her comm. 

The demon pulled a fork off the table and held it precariously close in front of one of her eyes. 

“Left or right, first?” it crooned. 

You weren’t prepared for this, John didn’t teach you how to exorcise demons, only to fend them off yourself. 

That was it. Gods, he would hate you for it. If you lived. 

“Take me instead,” you said, as steadily as you could.

It looked surprised, and lowered the fork. That was something at least. 

“What?” it asked. 

“You wanted me,” you swallowed. “Take me, just leave her.”

“If you insist,” it said wickedly. 

“NO!” you heard Constantine yell.

You turned around as the dark energy entered your body. You saw him, hand outstretched, running as fast as he could.    
“Please forgive me. I love you,” was all you could get out before the darkness consumed you.

Suddenly, it was like you were under water. You could see only vague, shimmering shapes at the surface, hear garbled voices and tones, but nothing was clear. You found yourself in your own mind, in a corner long forgotten. It was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It felt familiar and yet foreign. You could feel your body moving, feel muscles being pulled on as if by strings, making you do things, but you weren’t sure what.

Through the garble, you heard  _ him _ . That much you knew. Gods he was going to be absolutely furious. Again, if you lived. Which, you weren’t sure from the vague burning sensation you could feel in your entire body, was probable. If it was only vague down here, you wondered what it was actually doing to you. 

It was tempting, you thought. To stay in this dark hole. You couldn’t really feel anything, emotionally or physically. It was as if this entire space were made of ambivalence. But that voice. You could hear that voice. You could see a blurry shape, a whiz of blonde, a flash of red. Something in the back of your mind told you that was worth fighting for, worth getting out of this for. But how?

You started thinking hard, using everything you could to keep your mind focused. It was like working off of two hours of sleep. But the voice helped. It reminded you of what you had to do. Focus. Focus on him, on everything worth getting out of this grave for. You remembered everything. You remembered the first time he touched you, pushing you against the wall of your house, shielding you, protecting you. The smell of him all around you. You thought of the first night you slept together, how he’d looked at you, savored you. You thought about wearing his shirts, his possessive holds of your body. You thought about the way you made him laugh, and the way he made you giggle. You felt the butterflies in your stomach flutter from the first time you kissed.

But it wasn’t enough. It was fighting you. You thought about the look in his eye when he told you to get out of his house. You thought about all the other people he’d been with and how he probably loved them more than you. He’d probably had better shags than you, known far more talented mages. You were nothing to him, just another passing fling. There was no bond between you, he’d lied about that, coached his friends to lie about that. They were all laughing about how gullible you were right now. They were all laughing about how, once again, you’d fallen for a guy who actually hated you. 

The sounds and images that had been starting to clear became muddied again, and you found yourself sinking back down, down. It felt like you were falling, like someone was turning down the volume. But before it went mute, something came through. Just a few words. 

“Please, I love you, please…”

That voice, those words. Surely not from John Constantine? But you caught yourself, as if you’d grabbed a limb of a tree on the way down a cliff. Wait a minute. Those horrible thoughts weren’t real. They weren’t yours. These were yours: You and Constantine in bed, holding each other close. You sitting on Constantine’s lap and playing with his hair. The feel of his tie as you pulled him towards you for a kiss. The pride in his face as he saw you learning his craft. 

You clawed and dragged yourself out of the pit the demon had put you in, and fought your way through intrusive and untrue thoughts. You clambered through, forcing control of your eyes and ears.

“I’m here!” you screamed, but you weren’t sure if you’d actually said it until you saw their faces light up. 

You saw Constantine get to work, moving his hands and chanting ancient phrases. The thing inside you didn’t like those words. They were old words, old magic. Older than even him. It felt like a sledge hammer knocking at a brick wall, making cracks larger and larger each time it hit until you burst through, shattering it to dust. 

And you could see again. You could hear again. You moved your body at your own will. For about ten seconds, and then you passed out.

When you woke up, you were back on the ship in a strangely comfortable chair. You blinked your eyes open, and realized why you felt a soft pressure on your thigh. A mop of blonde hair was laid on your leg. Constantine was passed out, his hand in yours, his head resting on your thigh.

You rustled his hair with your free hand, but before you could give him a smile as he woke up, you looked at your arm. It was bandaged. You hadn’t remembered getting cut. 

“You alright?” he asked groggily. 

“I think so,” you answered tentatively. 

“Right,” he nodded, and he stood up, his eyes shifting from concern to intense anger. “So what the bloody fucking hell were you thinking?”

You had expected this, but the sudden shift was jarring.

“Goddamnit, luv,” he sighed. “Do you know what that did to me? What it did to you?” 

He glanced down at your bandaged arm, but you were too annoyed to ask any questions.

“Do you know what it did to me seeing that demon threaten to gouge that girl’s eye out?” you countered.

He winced, having not been there for that bit. 

“You don’t know what happened with  _ you _ ,” he said. He hid his head in his hands for another moment. 

“It’s okay,” you offered. “I’m okay.”

He sighed and shook his head. 

“You did what I told ya to do, I’ll give you that much,” he smirked. “Made it a hell of a lot easier to trap that bastard.”

“Trap him?”

Constantine pulled out a small, iron, box. 

“He’s not going anywhere ever again,” he promised. 

You sighed, feeling a thousand pounds fall from your shoulders. You eyed your bandaged arm again, however, and cringed. 

“What did it do?” you asked. 

Constantine took a breath, steeling himself. 

“Threatened to hurt you, like it did the girl,” he said. “Slowly and painfully.”

“I didn’t feel anything,” you said. 

“Didn’t sound like it,” he sighed. “The thing broke a glass of water, started digging at your wrists. You were screaming your bloody head off.”

You blinked, having absolutely no memory of that at all. 

“And it made you say things,” he sighed. 

“Like what?”

“Like… ‘I’d never be with a two-bit con man like you. Your father was right, you’re just a killer. Everyone you love is going to die. Including me,’ that kind of delightful bollocks.”

“Fuck,” you muttered. “It kinda told me similar things.” He waited to hear more. “He planted these thoughts in my mind like… you were just playing me. Like we don’t have this bond, that you were all just playing a joke at my expense. Like you liked everyone you’ve dated before me so much more… shit like that.”

“I don’t think I can ever unsee it. I guess it swore it’d get to me and it did,” he shrugged. 

“I’m fine,” you promised again. “I did what you told me to do, and all I have now is a little scrape.”

You were being honest, you weren’t getting the bad end of the deal here. But he was. He had had to watch you hurt yourself. He’d had to watch as a demon took over your body and possessed you, saying those horrible things.

“Do you remember what you said?” he asked tentatively, barely meeting your gaze. “Right before?”

You pressed your lips together and suppressed a grin. 

“Yeah,” you said. He waited patiently. “I said, ‘Please forgive me.” You paused, waiting just a moment before getting up the courage to add, “I love you.”

He seemed relieved to hear you say it, and let his shoulders relax, kissing your hand. 

“Did you hear me?” he asked. “Did you hear me in there?”

“Just in case I didn’t,” you murmured, “What was it that you said?”

He smiled slightly, and looked at your entwined hands for a moment before answering. 

“I said, ‘I love you.’”

“Ah,” you smiled playfully. 

“As if you didn’t know,” he laughed. When you didn’t laugh he asked, “You didn’t know?”

“I may play it cool,” you smirked, “But I’m not as confident as I would like sometimes.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner,” he admitted. “But… I wasn’t sure…”

“I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“Me either,” he laughed. “We’re a right match, eh?” He was quiet for a moment, rubbing small circles on the back of you hand. “You know I could feel you in there, still.”

“Really?” you asked. “I could barely feel myself.”

“I know,” he nodded. “But I could feel you. I felt you almost slip away.”

You felt your eyes welling up and tried to keep the tears at bay. 

“Please don’t ever do anything like that again,” he said. You had expected him to say this angrily, forcefully, but he was quiet, almost begging. 

“I’ll do my best,” you promised. “As long as you do the same.”

He gave you a sad look, and nodded. 

“I suppose we’ve not chosen the best life path to make that promise.”

“Keeps it interesting,” you smirked. 

“She lives!” Sara exclaimed, walking into the med bay with a bright smile on her face. “John done yelling at you about how stupid that was?”

Constantine didn’t even roll his eyes, he was just staring at you, not registering anyone else.

“Why, would you like to join in?”

“Nah, I thought it was pretty badass,” she nodded. 

“She's awake?” Ray asked, poking his head in. 

“How long was I out?” you asked. 

“Mm, about seven hours?” Ray responded.

Seven hours, Jesus. No wonder Constantine looked so tired. He’d probably been trying to stay up most of the time.

“You can take off that bandage now,” Sara said, motioning to your arm. “I’m sure Gideon’s taken care of it.”

“I have, Captain. She should only have minimal scarring.”

You undid the bandage and revealed your arm to be just as Gideon had promised. A small, silver line made its way up from your wrist to half way up your forearm. You wondered how much blood you’d lost. If you’d been any slower climbing your way out of that darkness, you might have bled out before he could have exorcised you.

“How’s the little girl?” you asked suddenly. 

“She’s fine, luv,” Constantine promised. “Doesn’t remember a thing.”

You sighed happily, relaxing again. 

“Good,” you nodded. “So everyone else made it out okay?” you asked. “Where’s Mick?”

“He mentioned something about a lifted writer’s block,” Sara rolled her eyes. “We probably won’t see him till he writes out another alien sex scene or three.”

You chuckled and looked at Constantine. He was still staring at you, as if worried if he blinked you’d disappear. Your hand held his hand tightly, silently promising you weren’t going anywhere.

“You guys want some grub before you get back home?” Sara asked. 

“I’d rather just go, if that’s okay,” you said, shifting to sit up and dangle your legs off the chair. “I’m ready to sleep for another day and a half.”

“Mm, demon possession is quite the energy burner,” Sara smirked. 

Constantine helped you off the chair, and you followed the gang outside the ship. It was light out, only just after sunrise, and the air was warm. You let yourself take a moment and appreciate that you could still breathe this air, still bask in this sun. You’d faced the darkness inside you and inside that demon, and survived. 

“Guess this is it for now,” Sara smiled at you. “Keep kickin’ ass until I see you next. And don’t let him fuck it up,” she pointed at Constantine before hugging you. 

“I’m glad everything turned out okay,” Ray smiled at you. He glanced at Constantine who apparently gave him the go ahead for a hug. Ray hugged you gently and stepped back, looking at the ship. “Mick says bye too,” he promised. 

“See ya, kids,” Constantine waved as the two boarded the ship. “And knock next time.”

Sara rolled her eyes as the doors closed. You walked a few paces away as The Waverider gracefully rose into the air and shot off into the time vortex. 

You didn’t speak as you walked the short distance to the house. Your fingers were firmly entwined with his, your mind busy on the past day. When you finally got downstairs, you headed for the bedroom, Constantine in tow. You disrobed and got into bed, and he did the same, happy just to hold you in his arms, safe. You laid your head on his chest, content to listen to his heartbeat.

“What’re you thinking about, luv?” he asked. 

You stroked his chest with your fingers, still trying to figure that out yourself. 

“Just how everything feels sweeter now, like almost dying revitalized things. The air seemed more pure, the sun seemed warmer. Did that happen to you?”

“Mm, you get used to it,” he smirked. 

You moved slightly, leaning back a bit to look at him for a moment. 

“I love you,” you said again. “I just… I wanted to say it again.”

He smiled, a soft glow in his eyes as he heard the words. 

“I love you too, bit,” he smiled softly. 

You laid your head back down, and as if his words had been a lullaby, you fell asleep.

 


	18. Chapter 18

It wasn’t long after your adventures that you realized you needed a trip to the shops. You texted Chas who agreed to take you out to get a few necessities. You snaked your way into Constantine’s lap, carefully avoiding getting in the way of the book he was reading, while still managing to coil your arms around him.

“Chas is gonna bring me to get some stuff,” you said softly, kissing his cheek while he inspected whatever text was in his lap. “Wanna come along?”

“Mmm, no,” he answered, distractedly. “Got some research to do.”

You loved that serious, focused look on his face, and didn’t question the importance of what he was doing. You heard the creak of the door, and the footsteps on the stairs. 

“Alright,” you smiled. “Don’t study too hard.”

You slipped out of his lap and jumped over the other side of the couch, just as Chas made his way halfway down the stairs.

“Ready?” Chas asked.

“Ready,” you smiled. 

You leaned over the back of the couch and kissed Constantine on the cheek. 

“Bye,” you said. 

“Love you,” he answered absently.

You felt a pleasant shiver go down your spine as you smiled. When you turned, you saw Chas standing on the stairs, stunned. His mouth was fully open and it took him a moment to recover. He didn’t say anything as you rounded the stairs and ended up in his car. 

“You okay?” you asked, when he hadn’t said anything five minutes into your ride.

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I heard John Constantine tell another human he loved them. I need about an hour to recover.”

You laughed quietly in your seat and looked at him. He looked happy for you.

“He’s never said that to you?” you asked. “Not in the same way, obviously,” you blushed. “But just… as friend?”

“No,” Chas laughed. “If he did I’d think he was possessed by something.”

You laughed too, and thought about it. Maybe you hadn’t been wrong in your feeling that those words were meaningful, powerful even, to Constantine. He did not say them freely apparently. 

“You know, I’m happy you came into our lives,” Chas said, and you saw how easy it was for him to be honest, at least in comparison Constantine. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of it,” he amended. “But I think you’re good for him.”

“Thanks,” you blushed. 

“He’s been so deep inside his own head for so long, and just to see him laugh, to smile, hell, to look forward to waking up everyday. I’m glad you can do that for him.”

“I mean he’s not the only winner here,” you shrugged. “I get to be part of something bigger than myself, help people, learn new things. He brings out the best in me,” you said. “And I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“John bringing out the best in someone,” Chas shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

You pulled into the shopping center and spent an hour getting some much needed supplies. It was still a luxury to you to be able to go out and about and not worry about anything hunting you. You still wore the necklace he’d given you, even though the glowing had changed the color to almost black, like it’d been burned. It was a reminder to you of all that you’d been through, and more importantly, where you were headed, together. 

When Chas dropped you off at home, you sauntered down the stairs and found Constantine right where you’d left him, buried in that ancient book. 

You leaned over the couch, draping your arms over his chest and kissing his temple. 

“So studious today,” you remarked. “Something serious?”

“Could be,” he said, resting the book on his lap and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

You climbed over the back of the couch to sit next to him for a moment, and then decided better of it, and straddled him. He looked up at you, tiredly, but lovingly. You thought about the first interactions you’d had with him. Carefully careless, you’d called him. And he had been. He’d been so careful to make you believe he didn’t care, that everything he did was impulsive and daring. He wasn’t like that anymore. He didn’t put on airs, didn’t feel like he had to. The way he was now was just how he was. You could feel it in your bond, the truth, the transparency between you. 

“What’re you thinking about, bit?” he asked, his hands moving up your thighs. 

“You,” you smirked. “Like always.”

He let out a breathy laugh and smiled. 

“Thinking about just how devilishly handsome I am?” he guessed. 

You let your hands run down his chest and smirked. 

“Mmhm,” you laughed. 

You leaned in to kiss him, feeling incredibly lucky as you did so. The way he made you feel, the glowing of happiness inside you, made you so excited about the future. And yes, it would be dangerous, and there was absolutely no guarantee of any amount of stability in your life, but you couldn’t have cared less. This man before you, looking up at you with wonder and love, was worth any price. 

And you could only wait to see what the future would bring for you both.

 


End file.
